The Japanese public is divided on whether Japan should exercise its right to collective self-defence if China attacks Taiwan, a Kyodo news agency poll found on Sunday.

China sent Coast Guard ships near disputed islands and warned travelers and students about safety risks in Japan. The escalation is over comments on Taiwan by Japan’s new prime minister.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi angered Beijing by saying that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could be a “survival-threatening situation” and bring a military response from Tokyo.

The diplomatic row comes after Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi said Japan may intervene if China blockades Taiwan.

China has warned of "significant risks to the personal safety and lives of Chinese citizens in Japan" as the diplomatic row deepens.

Sanae Takaichi had said that any Chinese military move against Taiwan ‘could allow Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense’ - Anadolu Ajansı

China urges citizens to avoid Japan after PM Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks, saying deteriorating ties pose serious safety risks.

China summons Japanese ambassador amid ongoing row over Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks - Beijing warns Tokyo over comments seen as signalling a potential military response to a Taiwan conflict

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.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who was elected as the country’s first female prime minister last month, said Chinese use of force around Taiwan would qualify as “an existential threat”.

Heavyweights clash as election of hawkish PM Sanae Takaichi and US policy unpredictability change calculus in region