Taiwan - a bone of contention The new ice age between Tokyo and Beijing

That was quick: Sanae Takaichi has barely taken office as Prime Minister when there is already an ice age between Tokyo and Beijing. The new diplomatic crisis has been sparked by the issue of Taiwan.

Sanae Takaichi has been in office for less than two and a half weeks when Japan's newly appointed prime minister speaks in parliament about Taiwan. What she says has consequences: It will cost her country a lot of money and plunge it into a diplomatic crisis with its big neighbor China.

It was foreseeable that Takaichi and Xi Jinping would clash. The 64-year-old is ultra-conservative, pro-Taiwan and in favor of amending Article 9 of the constitution, which prohibits Japan from waging war.

For the first time a womanUltra-conservative Sanae Takaichi becomes Japanese Prime Minister

Takaichi also regularly visits the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which is controversial because war criminals who were convicted after the Second World War are also worshipped there. It's hard to believe that this woman once played drums in a heavy metal band.

Threat? "Cut off the dirty neck"

The mother of three has a lot of experience in politics: she has been a member of parliament since 1993. At the beginning of October, Takaichi is campaigning for a stricter law against espionage. On October 21, she is elected Prime Minister. The politician heralds the new ice age with Beijing on November 7.

How does the woman antagonize China? Takaichi says in parliament that an attack on Taiwan would mean "an existential crisis for Japan". This is the term under which the constitution permits the deployment of armed forces - and a very offensive interpretation of Japan's defensive Basic Law.

Xue Jian represents China in Osaka. The Consul General is angry about Takaichi's statement. "We have no choice but to cut off this filthy neck that pounced on us without hesitation," the diplomat writes on X. "Are you ready?" The tweet ends with an anger emoji.

Pithy words

Two days after the post, Tokyo sent a formal note of protest to Beijing on November 10. "We must say that the post is extremely inappropriate for a Chinese diplomatic head of mission," a government spokesperson is quoted as saying. "The mask is falling - again" commented George Glass, the US ambassador to Japan.

The X-Post from the Chinese consul general in Osaka is deleted, but Beijing now demands that Takaichi retract her statements in parliament. However, she sticks to her statement. And with that, the baby has fallen into the well.

China takes aim at Japan's prime minister. Takaichi had not distanced himself enough from Japanese war crimes. On television, a commentator warns that those who interfere with Taiwan are "doomed to dig their own graves", writes the New York Times.

Blow to tourism: China warns against travel to Japan

On November 13, the Japanese ambassador to China, Kenji Kanasugi, was summoned to the foreign ministry in Beijing. One day later, China's ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao, was summoned to the ministry in Tokyo. In Beijing, the authorities respond with a travel warning.

This hits Japanese tourism hard, as the Chinese make up the majority of visitors. Tickets are being returned, trips canceled, flights canceled and cruise ships canceled. This could cost Tokyo up to 1.2 billion dollars, warns Bloomberg.

On November 15, the dispute also takes on a military component: The Chinese authorities announce a live-fire exercise with live ammunition in the Yellow Sea for the coming days and close the sea area.

Coastguard skirmishes and concert cancellations

One day later, China's coast guard announced that it had sailed to the disputed Senkaku Islands. The Japanese coast guard in turn reported that it had driven the boats away.

The skirmishes continue on various levels. On the economic level - China stops the import of seafood from Japan. On the security level - the Ministry of State Security announces that it has uncovered a series of espionage cases in which Japanese secret services are allegedly involved.

The new ice age is also having an impact on culture: concerts by Japanese musicians in China have been canceled, according to Reuters. Bilateral forums are being canceled - and the authorities in Tokyo are warning Japanese schools in China to ensure the safety of their students.

Japan stations missiles on island near Taiwan

Hopes that the diplomatic flash in the pan could still be extinguished were dashed at the G20 summit in South Africa. Although both Takaichi and her Chinese counterpart Li Qiang were there, there was no exchange of views. In the summit photo on November 23, the two politicians politely keep their distance.

At the same time, Japan's defense minister announces that Japan is on schedule to deploy medium-range surface-to-air missiles on the country's westernmost island: Yonaguni is only 110 kilometers from Taiwan.

"The deployment can help reduce the likelihood of an armed attack on our country," the Straits Times quotes. "The view that this will exacerbate regional tensions is not correct."

"Takaichi cannot retract her statement"

However, it is not to be expected that the tensions will subside any time soon: "Takaichi cannot retract her statement and Beijing knows that. Takaichi's sin was that she spoke out clearly, and Beijing is punishing her for it," say analysts David Boling and Jeremy Chan from Eurasia Group CNBC.

And further: "As long as Takaichi remains prime minister, it is hard to imagine relations improving significantly." Xi Jinping talks to Donald Trump on the phone on November 24 and discusses the Taiwan issue, a Chinese summary shows.

Trump, on the other hand, summarizes the conversation on Truth Social like this - not a word about Japan or Taiwan:

On November 25, Takaichi also spoke with Trump on the phone. The US president had explained to her how Sino-American relations were going. "President Trump explained that he and I are very close friends and that he would like me to call him at any time."

This diplomatic drama in Asia seems to be far from over - to be continued.