– China is an important neighbor for Japan and we must build constructive and stable relations – Takaichi stated at the press conference.
– Japan is always open to dialogue with China. We are not closing our doors – she said.
China and Japan are embroiled in a spat over a proposal by Takaichi in November that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on the self-governing democratic island.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.
The comments prompted a sharp diplomatic reaction from Beijing, which urged its citizens to avoid travel to Japan.
Official data released on Wednesday showed that the warning had an impact on visitor numbers.
Arrivals from mainland China to Japan last month rose slightly by just three percent from a year earlier, the weakest growth since January 2022, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).
About 560,000 travelers from China visited Japan last month, a three percent year-on-year increase, the JNTO said, citing a travel warning as a factor in the modest increase.
Year-on-year growth in Chinese visitors to Japan has been consistently in double digits for months – 22.8 percent in October, 18.9 percent in September and 36.5 percent in August.
China is the largest source of tourists to the Japanese archipelago, with almost 7.5 million visitors in the first nine months of 2025 – a quarter of all foreign tourists, according to official figures.
Attracted by the weak yen, they spent the equivalent of $3.7 billion in the third quarter.
According to JNTO, each Chinese tourist spent an average of 22 percent more than other visitors last year.
In the latest escalation of the dispute this month, Chinese military planes pointed radar at Japanese planes, prompting Tokyo to summon the Chinese ambassador over the radar incident.
Tokyo claims that Chinese planes directed their radar at Japanese fighter jets, reports AFP.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
