Tensions between China and Japan flared further this week after a Japanese army officer was accused of breaking into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo. Beijing lambasted Japan over the incident, which Tokyo said was “truly regrettable.”
The episode inflames the diplomatic spat between the two countries that began over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments about Taiwan. Japan will reportedly downgrade the description of its relationship with China from “one of its ​most important” to “strategic” in an annual diplomatic report.
In some ways, Tokyo is benefiting from the tensions, as more European leaders are seeking meetings with Takaichi in hopes of “maintaining a balance against ties to China,” Nikkei wrote.