China-Japan row over Taiwan hits Japanese seafood, tourism

[China vs Japan]
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China has indicated that it will effectively suspend all imports of Japanese seafood, as tensions between the two countries flared up following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent comments on Taiwan.

"Under current circumstances, there will be no market for Japanese aquatic products even if they enter China," Mao Ning, China's foreign ministry spokesperson, said during a press conference on Wednesday.

Beijing has called on Takaichi to retract her "erroneous" statements. "If Japan refuses to retract them or even continue to pursue the wrong course, China will have to take strong and resolute countermeasures and all consequences arising therefrom will be borne by Japan," Mao Ning warned.

Earlier this month, Takaichi said "battleships and the use of force" involving Taiwan could constitute a threat to Japan's survival, which would justify a response from the Japanese military.

Beijing called for Takaichi to retract her remarks, which she declined as they are consistent with the Japanese government's traditional position.

China then urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan in the near future, which could deal a blow to Japan's tourism industry. Visitors from mainland China and Hong Kong account for around a fifth of all arrivals in Japan, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.

The row also led to Chinese airlines canceling flights to Japan, while China suspended screenings of upcoming Japanese films.

China partially resumed imports of Japanese seafood this year, following a suspension due to Tokyo's decision in 2023 to release treated wastewater from its Fukushima nuclear power plant.

"Japan made a commitment to fulfill the regulatory responsibility of guaranteeing the quality and safety of its aquatic products exported to China," Mao Ning said,

When asked about the potential ban on Japanese seafood, Mao Ning said [https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xw/fyrbt/202511/t20251119_11756196.html] Japan had committed to guaranteeing the quality and safety of its aquatic exports to China. "However, Japan has so far been unable to provide the technical materials under its commitment."

Naoto Saito, China economist at Daiwa Securities, told [https://asia.nikkei.com/politics/international-relations/fears-grow-japan-china-spat-may-spiral-into-worst-crisis-since-2012] _Nikkei Asia _that Sino-Japanese relations are at their worst since 2012. He raised concerns that Beijing could escalate its response with a rare-earth embargo or by calling for a boycott of Japanese goods.

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