China imposed sanctions on a former top uniformed member of Japan’s military, accusing the ex-general of colluding with Taiwanese “separatist” forces.
Beijing has frozen any assets that Shigeru Iwasaki holds in China, barred him from entering the country and prohibited all Chinese organizations and individuals from interacting with him, according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Monday. The largely symbolic sanctions appear to be a response to his appointment earlier this year as an adviser to Taiwan’s cabinet.
Iwasaki served as chief of staff of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, its top military post, from 2012 to 2014. During that period, tensions escalated between Tokyo and Beijing over islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan. As SDF chief, he helped lead the development of joint operations for Japan’s military and coordinated closely with US forces.
“China firmly opposes Shigeru Iwasaki, the former chief of joint staff of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, taking the post of so-called political consultant of the Taiwan authorities,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular briefing in Beijing, adding the move is “a blatant interference in China’s internal affairs.”
In Tokyo, Japan’s top government spokesman, Minoru Kihara, said at a briefing that, “it’s regrettable that the Chinese side has taken unilateral measures toward a Japanese citizen that appear intended to intimidate views or positions different from its own.”
Iwasaki couldn’t immediately be reached for comment and Taiwan’s cabinet spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
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The sanctions come as relations between Japan and China have worsened to their lowest point in years over Taiwan. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said last month that a Chinese military move against the self-ruled island could so threaten Japan that it might authorize its own military to act, enraging Beijing, which views anything related to Taiwan as an internal matter.
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This is the second Japanese national China has sanctioned this year, after it imposed similar measures on lawmaker Hei Seki in September. Seki, who was born in China and later became a Japanese citizen, was accused by Beijing of interfering in China’s internal affairs and undermining its sovereignty.
In a later interview, he called for Japan to leverage its alliance with the US to counter China’s threatened retaliation over Takaichi’s remarks.
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