Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute “a survival-threatening situation” for Japan, drawing sharp criticisms from Beijing.

Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have dramatically soured, with nationalist rhetoric in China and an apparent threat of beheading from one of its diplomats.

A Chinese diplomat’s call to cut off the prime minister’s “filthy head” signaled a revival of a combative style Beijing had tried to dial back.

How Sanae Takaichi’s Taiwan remark stirred up a diplomatic storm between Japan and China - Japan moves closer to openly linking Taiwan’s security to its own as China responds with thinly veiled threat

The Japanese leader warned that a Chinese attack on Taipei could trigger a military response from Tokyo. It took the new Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi,, less than a month in office to revive an old diplomatic crisis with China.