Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, criticized Japan on Thursday for recent "negative trends on the Taiwan issue" as he met in Beijing with former House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono, who is heading a Japanese delegation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Wang lambasted a claim by some circles in Japan that any contingency concerning Taiwan would be an emergency for Japan, calling it "absurd and dangerous" and urging Tokyo to be "highly vigilant."
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was among advocates of the claim.