Japan tells China to respect PM Takaichi's title

Japan has told China to show appropriate respect after a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman referred to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi by name without using her title.

Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Toshihiro Kitamura said Wednesday that Tokyo had relayed its concerns to Beijing after China's Guo Jiakun referred to the Japanese leader only as “Sanae Takaichi” at a September 30 news conference.

Kitamura did not comment directly on Guo's remarks, but said that even when countries differ, international protocol requires respect for another country's leader. He said Japan was conveying that position to China.

Ties between Japan and China have been tense. Relations have soured further after Takaichi suggested in 2025 that Tokyo may intervene in an attack on Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.

Japanese lawmakers have visited China in recent weeks in an effort to ease diplomatic tensions. Takaichi recently called Beijing an “important neighbour” and pledged to build a stable relationship between the rival nations.