Senior officials from Japan and China held talks in Beijing today. The meetings came amid rising tensions between the two countries triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent comments on Taiwan, which have strained the bilateral relationship. Head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Masaaki Kanai, met with his Chinese counterpart Liu Jinsong to discuss bilateral issues. Media reports said that, through the discussions, Tokyo aims to defuse the diplomatic spat that is impacting tourism, education and entertainment exchanges between the two neighbouring countries.

Meanwhile, the Embassy of Japan in China has urged its citizens to exercise heightened caution and avoid crowded places amid the tensions between the two nations. In a separate development, US Ambassador to Japan George Glass reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to defend the East Asian nation after the reports of four Chinese Coast Guard vessels entering Japan’s territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands came to light.