Japan will suffer a "crushing defeat" by the Chinese military if it tries to use force to intervene over Taiwan, China's defence ministry said on Friday, ramping up the rhetoric over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks about the island.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong hauled in Japan’s top envoy to China, lodging an angry protest and issuing a direct threat.

China has been ramping up its criticism of recent remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae over a possible Taiwan emergency.

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.

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

Rather than deploying deep discounts to remain competitive in deflationary China, Japanese beef bowl chain Yoshinoya Holdings Co. changed its business recipe.

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

A spat between China and Japan over Japanese Premier Sanae Takaichi's Taiwan comments showed no signs of abating on Wednesday with a series of vitriolic commentaries in Chinese state media and calls in Tokyo to expel a Chinese diplomat.