Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister, provoked China earlier this month when she said Japan could consider a military response if China moved to take Taiwan.

The remarks come amid the two countries’ worst diplomatic crisis in years, after the Japanese prime minister said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

China is trying to impose economic costs on Japan for wading into the issue of Taiwan. But experts say the escalating dispute could ultimately hurt China too.

The cavernous gap was on full display over the weekend as any contact between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang failed to materialize at a G20 summit.

One of Taiwan's largest food companies, I-Mei Foods, is also considering mass producing a limited-series chocolate bar that features pictures of Takaichi on its wrapper

China has sharply condemned Japan’s plan to deploy medium‑range surface‑to‑air missiles on Yonaguni Island, just about 110 km from Taiwan, calling the move “extremely dangerous” and accusing Tokyo of stoking militarism and regional confrontation.

China's escalating confrontation with Japan is colliding directly with its attempt to join one of the world's most demanding trade agreements.

For years, China has threatened, cajoled and squeezed democratic Taiwan in an attempt to force it to fold without a costly war across the Taiwan Strait. Japan has mostly toed the US line of “strategic ambiguity”, rarely speaking out and officially saying that the dispute can be resolved through dialogue.