China urges citizens not to visit Japan over Taiwan row

BBC:

China has urged its citizens not to travel to Japan and summoned the country’s ambassador in Beijing over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan.

China and Japan have been locked in an escalating war of words this week, set off by Takaichi’s suggestion that Japan could respond with its own self-defence force if China attacked Taiwan.

Both countries’ foreign ministries have lodged serious protests with each other. A Chinese diplomat also made a comment which some interpreted as a threat to behead Takaichi.

The spat touches on the historical animosity between China and Japan, as well as longstanding “strategic ambiguity” on the sovereignty of self-governed Taiwan.

Here’s what else you need to know about it: