Three Japanese lawmakers arrived in Beijing on Aug. 24 seeking a parliamentary-level political channel after months of strained relations and Chinese restrictions imposed during a dispute over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks about a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan.
Jiji Press reported that the delegation consists of Gaku Hashimoto of Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Shinichi Isa of the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, and Komeito lawmaker Yudai Kawamura. The outlet said the lawmakers planned to remain in China through Aug. 27 and were arranging talks with senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) International Department.
The visit is a parliamentary and party-to-party exchange rather than a formal negotiation between the two countries. No Japanese government statement has indicated that Tokyo has changed its position on Taiwan.
In an Aug. 19 post on X, Isa said he and other lawmakers had discussed the need for a channel of communication and proposed traveling to China for an exchange of views. He said the Chinese side accepted their proposal.
Isa said the delegation intended to convey Japan’s national interests and positions directly.
Remarks on Taiwan Triggered Dispute
The confrontation dates to a Nov. 7, 2025, hearing in Japan’s House of Representatives.
According to the official Diet transcript, Takaichi was asked when a “naval blockade of Taiwan by China” could meet Japan’s legal threshold for a “survival-threatening situation.”
She said that if warships were involved and force was used, such circumstances could potentially meet the threshold allowing Japan to exercise collective self-defense under existing law.
Takaichi did not say Japan would automatically enter a war over Taiwan.
When questioned again on Nov. 10, she said any determination would depend on the circumstances of an actual crisis. She declined to withdraw the remarks but said she would avoid discussing particular hypothetical cases so explicitly in the future, according to the House transcript.
The Japanese Cabinet later said in a formal written response to the Diet that the government’s existing legal position had not changed.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question from an opposition party member during a plenary session of the House of Representatives at the National Diet in Tokyo on Dec. 8, 2025. Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP via Getty Images
Taiwan is a self-governed democracy. Beijing claims the island as part of China and has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control. Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
Japan’s Joint Staff recorded 595 fighter scrambles in fiscal 2025, including 366 involving aircraft assessed as Chinese. During Chinese military exercises around Taiwan in August 2022, Japan’s Defense Ministry said five Chinese ballistic missiles landed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone southwest of Okinawa.
Beijing Moves From Protest to Restrictions
China’s response to Takaichi’s remarks soon extended beyond diplomatic criticism.
China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism told Chinese citizens in November to avoid travel to Japan, citing Takaichi’s Taiwan-related comments alongside alleged safety problems involving Chinese citizens in Japan.
On Jan. 6, China’s Commerce Ministry prohibited exports of dual-use items to Japanese military users, for Japanese military uses, and to other end users or for uses that could contribute to Japan’s military capabilities. The measure took effect immediately.
In explaining the action, the ministry explicitly cited Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks.
China subsequently widened its Japan-related controls in February and June. In each round, the Commerce Ministry put 20 Japanese entities on an export control list and another 20 on a separate watch list subject to tighter end-user and end-use scrutiny.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on June 30 that Chinese controls involving critical minerals and Japan-specific export restrictions had caused licensing delays, prolonged customs examinations, and effects on Japanese companies.
China Customs data reviewed by The Epoch Times show no exports to Japan from January through July 2026 under four product codes covering dysprosium metal, dysprosium oxide, terbium metal, and terbium oxide. Both heavy rare earths are used in high-performance magnets and other advanced industrial applications.
Visit Draws Criticism and Support in Japan
The trip has drawn criticism from Japanese politicians questioning what the delegation can accomplish and whose interests the visit will serve.
Haruo Kitamura, a Japan Conservative Party member of the House of Councillors, in an Aug. 22 post on X, accused the participating lawmakers of doing “something that makes the Chinese Communist Party happy.”
Others argued that worsening relations make additional channels more important.
Yosuke Kawai, an Aichi prefectural assembly member, wrote in an Aug. 24 post on X that Japan should maintain multiple channels with China while raising its security, human rights, and economic concerns.
“Especially when relations are bad,” he wrote, maintaining avenues involving lawmakers, business and cultural exchanges in addition to government contacts is “realistic diplomacy” for protecting Japan’s national interests.
Isa, in his Aug. 19 post, said contacts between Japanese diplomatic personnel and Chinese ministries that remained available during earlier periods of tension had largely disappeared.
Neither side had announced a restoration of regular government-level dialogue.
