FM urges Japan to earnestly translate commitments into concrete actions

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By Wang Qi and Shen Sheng

Published November 21, 2025

If Japan truly intends to develop the strategic relationship of mutual benefit with China and make the relationship a constructive and stable one fit for the new era, Japan needs to uphold the spirit of the four political documents between the two countries and its political commitments, retract the erroneous remarks at once, and earnestly translate its commitments to China into concrete actions, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

The remarks from spokesperson Mao Ning were made when she was asked to comment on remarks made on Friday by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that she wants constructive and stable ties with China and that the country's stance on Taiwan remains unchanged.

During the routine press conference, Mao also stressed that Takaichi made blatant and erroneous remarks on Taiwan. Those remarks implied the possibility of Japan's armed intervention in the Taiwan Straits, triggered outrage and condemnation from the Chinese people, and eroded the political foundation of China-Japan relations. China has made clear its firm opposition. 

Takaichi's latest remarks were made amid growing concerns from economy and industrial sectors in Japan facing China's countermeasures, as well as the approval of an economic stimulus package on Friday that seeks to mitigate Tokyo's grim economic prospects.

Chinese experts said amid rising concerns and discontent across Japanese society, Takaichi's ostensibly softened rhetoric is primarily intended to placate domestic opposition, lacking real substance capable of halting the deterioration in China-Japan relations. If the Takaichi administration fails to take concrete actions to regain the trust of neighboring countries, such verbal "lip-service softening" without follow-through will neither salvage China-Japan ties nor benefit Japan's economy, which is closely related to China-Japan relations.

Latest remarks

According to NHK, Takaichi on Friday told reporters that there is absolutely no change in Japan's position on China from the overall direction she affirmed with the Chinese leader during their meeting in October - that the two sides would take measures to comprehensively advance a "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests" and build a constructive and stable relationship.

As to what kind of situation would be regarded as one that would "threaten Japan's survival", Takaichi claimed the government would make a comprehensive judgment based on all information, in accordance with an actually occurring specific situation.

Takaichi claimed at a Diet meeting on November 7 that the Chinese mainland's "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan. Multiple Chinese ministries and government agencies have condemned the Japanese side's related moves and remarks, warning that Japan would face a resolute response if it dares to meddle in the Taiwan question.

Lü Chao, director of the Institute of American and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University, told the Global Times that overall, Takaichi has not retracted her erroneous remarks and continues to repeat the old rhetoric, but her tone has softened.

Combined with Japanese diplomat Masaaki Kanai's recent visit to China, it is evident that Japan is making some efforts to mitigate the severe impact that Takaichi's erroneous statements have caused for Japan, Lü said.

We can see her contradictions: she wants to convey that she wants a détente, yet still refuses to make a clean break with her previous right-wing rhetoric, he added.

Takaichi's latest remarks are mainly intended to placate dissatisfaction within Japan's political circles and broader society toward her statement, said Zhu Qingxiu, associate researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Takaichi's remarks have drawn increasing criticism back home.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama cited Confucius, saying, " When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them… Not to mend the fault one has made is to err indeed," to criticize Takaichi for her erroneous remarks on Taiwan.

Posting on social platform X on Thursday, Hatoyama wrote that "a leader's remarks, which deviated from the road that 'the Taiwan question is China's internal affair,' have brought Japan-China relations to the brink of a worst-case scenario."

Ichiro Ozawa, a member of the House of Representatives from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), on Tuesday urged Takaichi to recognize the gravity of a prime minister's words, which can determine the fate of the nation, and called on her to take the initiative to improve the worsening Japan-China relations.

Some Japanese politicians and media figures have been scapegoating Katsuya Okada of the main opposition CDPJ, claiming that his "relentless questioning" is what prompted Takaichi's controversial remarks and, in turn, China's subsequent countermeasures.

Analysts pointed out that amid mounting pressure from China, Japanese politicians have resorted to shifting the blame onto one another.

According to Mainichi Shimbun on Sunday, Former prime minister Yoshihiko Noda, who has criticized Takaichi's words as "quite reckless" which "has placed Japan-China relations in a grave situation," defended Okada's right to raise questions, while once again blaming Takaichi's Taiwan-related remarks "was clearly an overreach." He also said on Friday's press conference that "There is no reason for the questioner to be criticized, Sankei Shimbun reported.

According to Zhu, Takaichi has long been a populist politician. Her support base and power foundation within the LDP remain relatively weak, so she has consistently relied on populist and often extreme rhetoric to bolster her influence. However, after her Taiwan remarks triggered strong Chinese countermeasures, she now has to fend off pressure from the business community, broader public opinion, and the pro-engagement factions inside the LDP.

"Takaichi's latest remarks—lacking concrete actions to halt and stabilize the decline in China-Japan relations— are nothing more than a strategic compromise and carries no real substantive meaning," Zhu further noted.

According to Kyodo, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday launched discussions on revising the country's three key security documents, including potential changes to its long-held principles of not possessing, producing or allowing the introduction of nuclear arms, as it reassesses its defense spending amid what it describes as growing security challenges posed by China and North Korea.

"While claiming it hopes to build a world without nuclear weapons, Japan is actually strengthening cooperation on extended deterrence, and even seeking to revise its three non-nuclear principles of not possessing, not producing and not permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons to open the door for enabling nuclear sharing arrangements. All these moves show that Japan is breaking free from the exclusively defense-oriented principle and "re-arming" itself at pace. People cannot help but ask, what exactly is Japan seeking to achieve?" spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday.

If Japan seeks to go back to the path of militarism, violate its commitment to peaceful development and disrupt postwar international order, the Chinese people will not allow it, and the international community will not allow it. Such attempt will only end in failure, she added.

Rising concerns

The rift, which began after Takaichi's erroneous remarks on the Taiwan question earlier this month, has also sparked concern among Japanese companies over the commercial impact on sectors including marine products and tourism.

According to a Kyodo News report on Friday, the meeting between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and a visiting delegation of Japanese companies, originally scheduled for November 25 in Beijing, has been postponed at China's request.

A hotel manager in Sapporo told FNN that approximately 50 bookings have already been cancelled, while visitor numbers from China at some of Sapporo's popular tourist attractions have dropped sharply.

NHK also spoke with a reservations manager of a hotel in Sapporo, who said, "If the situation drags on, it will affect the high season from December through February."

Subramania Bhatt, chief executive office of China Trading Desk, told Bloomberg that Japan could lose out on as much as $1.2 billion in visitor spending between now and the end of the year as would-be travelers from China cancel their trips.

He added that if Chinese visitors continue to stay away till 2026, the cumulative hit could reach as much as $9 billion, according to Bloomberg.

NHK also reported the postponement of a fish export contract between a Japanese fishery company and its Chinese client in Shanghai. "The view is growing in Japan that it could take a while to ease tensions with China," the Japanese media outlet commented in its report on Thursday.

When asked whether the Chinese Ministry of Commerce can confirm media reports that the Chinese government has notified Tokyo that it would suspend imports of aquatic products from Japan, spokesperson He Yongqian said on Thursday that "Japan cannot expect to hurt China's feelings on the one hand while seeking benefits on the other. This is not the right way to engage with China."

It is not only the fishery and tourism sectors that are at risk; other areas of China-Japan trade could also be affected, Lü said: "Discontent is now erupting within Japan's business community, this is the real 'survival-threatening situation' for the Japanese economy."

Ironically, one of Takaichi's loudest campaign slogans after taking office was that she would prioritize people's livelihoods, but the reality is that the very first thing she has done since coming to power is to harm those livelihoods, the expert added.

Amid the mounting concerns of Japanese industries, Takaichi's cabinet approved a 21.3 trillion yen ($135.40 billion) economic stimulus package on Friday, as Tokyo seeks to boost its waning economy and curb inflation through expansionary fiscal spending, according to media reports.

Kyodo News reported that the prospect of a large-scale stimulus package has triggered a selloff of the yen and Japanese government bonds in recent days, fueled by market concerns about the country's deteriorating fiscal health, already the worst among advanced economies with debt over twice the size of the economy.

"From the perspective of trade structure, Japan relies heavily on exports to China… If Japanese companies lose the Chinese market, the impact on Japan's economy would be enormous," said Zhu.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the total bilateral trade volume between China and Japan reached $308.3 billion in 2024. China remains Japan's largest trading partner, second-largest export destination, and top import source.

What Japan truly needs to do is rebuild political trust with its neighboring countries and make good-neighborly relations a prerequisite for economic development. Otherwise, whatever new rhetoric will not only fail to halt the damage, but will instead exact an even heavier toll on Japan's economy, Lü said.