By Liz Lee and Kantaro Komiya
BEIJING/TOKYO, March 30 (Reuters) – China imposed sanctions on Monday on Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya, a close aide to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, for what it called his “collusion with Taiwan independence” forces, in its latest move in a diplomatic row over Taiwan.
Japan said Beijing’s action on Furuya was “absolutely unacceptable”, and called for its swift retraction.
Furuya, as the head of a cross-party Japan-Taiwan lawmakers group, has visited Taiwan many times accompanying Japanese political leaders, most recently earlier this month to meet its President Lai Ching-te in Taipei.
The Chinese ministry accused Furuya of colluding with “separatist forces” in Taiwan, as he made trips to the island “in defiance of China’s strong opposition”.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory, objects to official visits by foreign politicians to the island as they are seen to be undermining the “One China” principle and Beijing’s claim over the island.
Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
The Chinese ministry said Furuya’s actions “constitute gross interference in China’s internal affairs, and seriously undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
In response, Japan’s deputy chief cabinet secretary Masanao Ozaki said China’s “unilateral action, using (Furuya’s) conduct as a pretext to intimidate those with differing views, is absolutely unacceptable”.
Furuya, a member of the lower house of parliament, told reporters that Beijing’s move would have no impact, as he had not visited mainland China in decades and had no assets there.
“Our parliamentary group is simply doing what comes naturally, to foster exchanges between countries that share common values,” Furuya said.
Furuya has been close to Takaichi, supporting her election as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader last year.
China imposed the sanctions in response to Furuya’s “abominable acts”, said Mao Ning, spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry, at a regular news conference on Monday.
“The Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests, and is a red line that must absolutely not be crossed,” Mao said.
Ties between Tokyo and Beijing have deteriorated since Takaichi suggested last November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a Japanese military response.
Last year, Beijing also sanctioned China-born Japanese lawmaker Seki Hei and former Japanese military chief of staff Shigeru Iwasaki for their remarks on issues including Taiwan.
(Reporting by Liz Lee in Beijing and Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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