By Liz Lee and Kantaro Komiya
BEIJING/TOKYO, March 30 (Reuters) – China imposed sanctions on Monday on Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya, a close aide of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, due to his “collusion with Taiwan independence” forces, in its latest move in a diplomatic row over Taiwan.
Beijing will bar Furuya’s entry into China and freeze his property and other assets in the country effective immediately, China’s foreign ministry said.
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 ministry said Furuya’s actions “constitute gross interference in China’s internal affairs, and seriously undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
In response, speaking to reporters at Japan’s parliament, Furuya said visiting Taiwan is a natural function of the parliamentary group he leads, adding he had not visited mainland China in decades and had no assets there, according to Kyodo.
Furuya has also been a close aide of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, supporting her election as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader last year.
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.
Earlier last year, Beijing also sanctioned China-born Japanese lawmaker Seki Hei for his remarks on issues including Taiwan.
(Reporting by Liz Lee in Beijing and Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
