Less than a month into her term, Japan's conservative leader has stirred tensions with China by suggesting a Chinese move against Taiwan could prompt a Japanese military response.

Japan’s diplomatic rift with China has expanded into a sweeping economic and cultural freeze with Beijing halting Japanese seafood imports, suspending film releases, warning citizens against travel to Japan & signalling broader retaliation unless Tokyo retracts PM Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks on Taiwan.

Takaichi’s remarks stirred a firestorm, but her later clarifications highlight the limits on Japan’s involvement in a Taiwan crisis.

China advised its citizens Friday to refrain from traveling to Japan in the near future. It cited earlier attacks against Chinese in Japan and what it called Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi 's "erroneous remarks" on Taiwan, which it said undermined the atmosphere for China-Japan exchange.

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Both countries have summoned each other’s ambassadors after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could draw a military response from Tokyo.

Takaichi ignited a diplomatic dispute with Beijing after she made a statement in the Japanese parliament last week that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could create a "survival-threatening situation" and prompt a military reaction from Tokyo.

Tensions between the Asian neighbours flared up after new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said this month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan threatening Japan's survival could trigger a military response.