Facing reprisals from Beijing for a remark over Taiwan, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi must walk a fine line to prevent escalating the dispute without looking weak at home.

Beijing is looking for an opportunity to exploit differing views of history.

From China’s point of view, the Japanese Prime Minister’s remarks on Taiwan test a red line - a trigger that sets this dispute apart from past flare-ups, analysts say.

There is but one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. Resolving the Taiwan question and realising the

China stepped up its economic war with Japan on Wednesday as a dispute between Asia’s two biggest economies intensified over a remark by Tokyo's new leader about a Japanese response to any Chinese military move against self-ruled Taiwan.

Beijing is flexing its military and economic might to show its displeasure with the Japanese leader’s comments about defending Taiwan. But its aggressive approach risks backfiring.