Japan issues disturbing travel warning
Japan has given a disturbing travel warning — urging people be careful of their surroundings and to avoid big crowds — amid a huge spat.
Japan has now warned its citizens in China to be careful of their surroundings and to avoid big crowds amid a diplomatic row over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan.
The escalating spat has already seen Beijing advise Chinese citizens to avoid travelling to Japan and hit Tokyo stocks.
“Pay attention to your surroundings and avoid as much as possible squares where large crowds gather or places that are likely to be identified as being used by many Japanese people,” the Japanese embassy in China said in a statement on its website dated Monday.
Minoru Kihara, Japan’s top government spokesman, said Tuesday that such advice was issued “based on a comprehensive assessment of the political situation, including the security situation in the relevant country or region, as well as the social conditions.”
It all began with a haphazard remark from Japan’s leader that came back to bite almost immediately.
When Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dared to comment on the growing tension surrounding neighbouring Taiwan, she could scarcely predict the consequences that would materialise in the coming days.
“If a Taiwan emergency entails ‘battleships and the use of force, then that could constitute a situation threatening the survival (of Japan), any way you slice it,” the conservative leader said in parliament last week.
“The so-called Taiwan contingency has become so serious that we have to anticipate the worst-case scenario.”
Those comments have sparked a tit-for-tat war of words between the nations this week.
China’s official position on Taiwan is anchored in the “One China” principle, which asserts that Taiwan and all of its population and economic output come under the CCP’s umbrella. The ruling party has long rejected any form of Taiwanese independence or international recognition of Taipei as a separate state. To make matters even more muddy, Japan actually ruled until 1945 upon its surrender in WWII.
China, meanwhile, has signalled that it will go to extraordinary measures to ensure it is back under Beijing’s control.
Takaichi, one of the more outspoken Japanese leaders in recent years, has now indicated that a move on Taiwan could spark a national security crisis, and those comments have been interpreted as fighting words across the ditch.
Takaichi, an ally of the late prime minister Shinzo Abe, has long criticised China’s growing military footprint in the Asia-Pacific.
Under Japan’s own rules, only an existential threat allows for military action. But with Taiwan lying roughly 100 kilometres from the nearest Japanese island, tensions are building over potential splash damage.
Takaichi recently held what appeared cordial first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit. Still, her previous visits to Taiwan and a separate meeting with Taipei’s representative have soured relations.
So much so, that officials that officials have started some very eyebrow-raising political mind games.
One Chinese diplomat in Japan reportedly threatened to “cut off that dirty neck,” of the prime minister. Then, Beijing officially cautioned Chinese citizens against travelling to Japan.
It also warned over 100,000 Chinese students already in the country of potential safety risks.
The political messaging has been interpreted as an economic attack against Japan following Takaichi’s public comments.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara criticised China’s abrupt new travel advisory on Monday, saying it was “incompatible with the broader direction agreed upon by the leaders of the two nations.”
He also reported that on Sunday, Chinese coast guard vessels entered Japan’s territorial waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands — called the Diaoyu by China — and remained there for several hours.
Japanese media said on Monday that Masaaki Kanai, the foreign ministry’s top Asia-Pacific official, had been dispatched to China for urgent talks with his counterpart Liu Jinsong.
A massive economic hit
Despite their differences, two Asian giants remain tightly connected, particularly through travel and consumer spending. China is Japan’s largest source of foreign visitors, with nearly 7.5 million arrivals in the first nine months of 2025.
Investors predictably hammered Japanese tourism and retail stocks after China warned millions to steer clear.
It might be hard to keep them all away, however. A weak yen has kept Japan an irresistible shopping destination, drawing Chinese travellers who spent 590 billion yen (A$5.8 billion) in the third quarter alone, which amounts to around 28 per cent of all foreign tourist spending.
China also ranked Japan as its fourth-most popular travel destination last year, helping fuel record-breaking foreign arrivals to the country known for Mount Fuji, sushi, and centuries-old cultural traditions.
But that appetite wasn’t enough to lift markets on Monday. Investors slashed as much as 11.4 per cent off cosmetics giant Shiseido’s share price.
Department store operator Takashimaya dropped six per cent, while Pan Pacific — owner of Don Quijote, a bargain-shopping magnet for tourists — slid up to 8.4 per cent. Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo and a heavyweight in the Chinese market, also fell nearly six per cent.
The row comes at a fragile moment for Japan’s economy, which shrank by 0.4 per cent in the third quarter, according to data released Monday.
Originally published as Japan issues disturbing travel warning
