Japan's attempt to downplay, fob off, or cover up Takaichi's erroneous remarks regarding Taiwan is self-deceptive: Chinese spokesperson

Japan's attempt to downplay, fob off or cover up its Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's seriously wrong remarks about Taiwan by "stopping referring to them" is self-deceptive and China will never accept it, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Thursday.

According to media reports, Takaichi took part in a debate with opposition party leaders on Wednesday. After the debate, Yoshihiko Noda, head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said that considering that Takaichi had stopped referring to a specific contingency example, she had "effectively retracted" her remarks regarding Taiwan.

When asked whether the Chinese side agrees with this view, spokesperson Guo told a daily news briefing that "stopping referring to" is completely different from "retracting."

Guo added that Takaichi's erroneous remarks seriously violated the principles laid down in the four political documents between China and Japan, fundamentally eroded the political foundation of China-Japan relations, and triggered outrage from the Chinese people.