Japans new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, is facing one of the most serious diplomatic rifts with China in years after an unscripted comment about how Tokyo might respond to a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan.

Beijing suggested it might reimpose a ban on seafood imports from Japan after warning its citizens to avoid travel there and postponing the release of at least two Japanese movies.

China’s recent naval deployment around Japan comes on the heels of a war of words between Beijing and newly-elected Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi over Taiwan.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass on Thursday condemned China's effective suspension of imports of Japanese fishery products. "Coercion is a hard habit to break for Beijing," Glass said in a post on X.

Images of “diplomatic superiority” shown by Chinese state media have exacerbated the Japan-China feud over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks about Taiwan.

Japan has urged its citizens in China to stay alert and avoid large crowds amid a diplomatic row over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Taiwan remarks.

An opening attempt to cool tensions between China and Japan appears to have fallen flat, signaling that the diplomatic spat is likely to drag on and stoking concerns about further strain in economic ties.