Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her hand to answer a question during a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee at the National Diet in Tokyo, Japan on November 12, 2025. Photo: VCG
As some media reports highlight that the fallout from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s wrongful remarks on Taiwan is spilling over into the Japanese economy, leader of a major Japanese economic organization told media that “the prerequisite for economic and business exchanges is ultimately political stability. The only way forward is to repeatedly engage in communication and dialogue across various levels and fields so that both sides can move toward resolution.”
Keidanren Chairman Tsutsui Yoshinobu spoke to reporters after a meeting with Takaichi at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence on Monday, as Takaichi’s recent provocations on Taiwan question have sparked backlash from China and led to calls for Chinese people to avoid traveling to Japan, NHK reported on Monday.
Leaders from the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) also attended the meeting with Takaichi on Monday, according to NHK.
Meanwhile, JCCI President Ken Kobayashi told reporters, “I think ‘strategic mutually beneficial relationship’ is an excellent phrase, but to nurture it, people-to-people exchanges are essential. We should avoid a situation of ‘cold politics, hot economics’; even if there are occasional temperature differences, we should cover them through a mutually beneficial relationship,” per NHK.
Recently, Takaichi said in a Diet debate that the Chinese mainland’s “use of force on Taiwan” could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, implying the possibility of Japan’s armed intervention in the Taiwan Straits.
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 dared to meddle in the Taiwan question.
A report in the Guardian predicted that the row is more likely to have an impact on bilateral economic and people-to-people ties between the key trading partners.
If the dispute drags on, a drop in Chinese visitors, such as the fall of roughly 25 percent seen during an island dispute in 2012, could deliver a significant economic hit for Japan, Reuters quoted Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute, as saying.
“A drop in visitor numbers on this scale would have a dampening effect exceeding half of Japan’s annual growth,” Kiuchi said.
Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun reported Monday that some Chinese tour groups have already begun canceling bookings with Japanese travel agencies. Operators in the inbound tourism industry from Japan are concerned that, with the Chinese New Year holidays approaching, the negative impact could become more pronounced in the coming weeks if tensions continue.
Global Times