China-Japan ferry halts service as tensions over Takaichi remarks flare

The ferry, named after monk seen as symbol of cultural exchange, has been suspended ‘due to a request from the Chinese side’, operator says

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The Jian Zhen Hao ferry, which typically operates between Shanghai, China and Japan’s Osaka and Kobe, has been suspended since Saturday. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:00pm, 8 Dec 2025Updated: 9:05pm, 8 Dec 2025

A passenger ferry named after an ancient monk seen as a symbol of Sino-Japanese cultural exchange has suspended its service as Beijing continues its retaliation for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan.

The Jian Zhen Hao ferry from Shanghai to Japan’s Osaka and Kobe had been suspended since Saturday “due to a request from the Chinese side”, trip operator Japan-China International Ferry said in a statement on Monday.

The Japanese company said the request was over concerns that the safety of travel between the two countries could not be guaranteed.

The suspension would last “for the time being”, and it was not clear when services might resume, it added.

This marks the latest fallout of the diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Tokyo sparked by comments Takaichi made a month ago. On November 7, she told the Japanese parliament that an attack on Taiwan by the People’s Liberation Army might qualify as a “survival-threatening situation”, which could allow Japan to deploy its military forces.

Takaichi’s comments enraged Beijing, which considers the remarks an interference in its internal affairs and a departure from Tokyo’s long-term strategic ambiguity over Taiwan. Beijing has since launched a series of retaliatory measures to put economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Japan, including urging citizens to avoid travel to Japan.

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