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.

Core consumer prices in Japan's capital rose 2.8% in November from a year earlier, data showed on Friday, exceeding the central bank's 2% target and keeping alive market expectations for a near-term interest rate hike.

The economic toll of strained diplomatic ties between China and Japan is looming over Japan's retail and tourism sectors, with a report by BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, warning of distinct downside risks if the escalating friction persists beyond the short term.

Two strong earthquakes struck Japan Tuesday at magnitudes of 5.4 and 4.7, according to data from the United States Geological Survey ( USGS ). The first quake struck in the Pacific Ocean about 80 miles east-southeast from Kitaibaraki at a depth of around 6 miles, 10 km, the data shows. Kitaibaraki is about 110 miles northeast of Tokyo.

Shohei Ohtani plans to play for Japan in next year’s World Baseball Classic. The two-way Los Angeles Dodgers star made the announcement on social media Monday night.

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.

TOKYO] Japan’s factory output rose 1.4 per cent in October from the previous month, better than the median market forecast for a 0.6 per cent fall, government data showed on Friday. Read more at The Business Times.

Analysts said Beijing would continue to push for a retraction, but some argued that the Japanese leader could not risk a domestic backlash.