Japanese tourism and retail shares dived on Monday after China warned its citizens to avoid the tourist hot spot in a spat over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments on Taiwan.

A senior Japanese official meanwhile arrived in China seeking to defuse the row sparked by Takaichi's suggestion that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on the self-ruled island.

Asia's two top economies are closely entwined, with China the biggest source of tourists — almost 7.5 million visitors in the first nine months of 2025 — coming to Japan.