Japan Lodges Protest with China over Online Posts by Consul

Tokyo/Beijing, Nov. 10 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government said Monday that it has lodged a protest with Beijing over social media posts by the Chinese consul-general in Osaka that criticized Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for her remark on Taiwan. “We can’t help but say that the posts were extremely inappropriate coming from the head of a Chinese foreign mission,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a news conference. “We’ll ask the Chinese side for a clear explanation.” In a parliamentary committee meeting Friday, Takaichi said that a possible Taiwan contingency could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, allowing the country to exercise its right to collective self-defense. In response, Consul-General Xue Jian said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that viewing a Taiwan contingency as a Japanese contingency was “a path of death that only some stupid politicians in Japan would choose.” “Without a moment of hesitation, we just need to chop off their dirty heads,” he went on. At a news conference Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian expressed China’s strong dissatisfaction with Takaichi’s remark. He stated that Beijing had protested to the Japanese side, claiming that Takaichi had interfered in China’s internal affairs. Lin noted that the remark did not align with the One China principle or the Japanese government’s previous political commitments. He also said that Takaichi met with a representative of Taiwan at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting in South Korea earlier this month and that the Japanese side has recently been making statements and taking actions that are negative on the Taiwan issue. The spokesman urged Japan not to provoke China or send misleading signals to Taiwan independence forces. Lin defended Xue, stating that his online comments were made in response to dangerous speech. He called for an investigation and response from Japan, citing radical and threatening posts directed at Xue on social media. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]