Consul General's Record of Inflammatory Remarks Comes Under New Scrutiny in Japan

Xue Jian, the Chinese Consul General in Osaka, has set off an unprecedented diplomatic uproar. On November 8, he posted on X that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's neck would be "sliced right off."

The violent language prompted an immediate protest from Tokyo and raised serious concerns about Beijing's increasingly confrontational messaging toward Japan.

China blames the uproar on Takaichi's November 7 testimony in the Diet. She stated that if China were to impose a naval blockade on Taiwan, including the use of force, such a scenario "could constitute a survival-threatening situation" for Japan. That would enable the limited exercise of collective self-defense under Japan's security legislation. Her answer was fully consistent with existing law and did not alter Japan's long-standing position under the 1972 Japan–China Joint Communiqué.

Recalcitrant Beijing

Nevertheless, Beijing responded sharply. On November 13, China summoned Japanese Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi to demand that the PM withdraw the remarks. China also issued travel advisories to its citizens and urged students to reconsider studying in Japan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOF) summoned Chinese Ambassador Wu Jianghao, lodged a strong protest against Xue's comment, and demanded that Beijing take appropriate action.

Seeking to prevent further escalation, Masahiro Kanai, Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOF) Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, left for Beijing on November 17 to reiterate that Japan's position has not changed. Kanai is expected to press the matter again during meetings in Beijing.

The same day, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing urged Japanese citizens in China to take extra precautions.

Not the First Time

Xue Jian has a long record of provocative and undiplomatic posts that have drawn criticism in Japan and abroad.

In 2021, Xue warned that "Taiwan independence = war," declaring: "Let me be perfectly clear: China has zero room for compromise!!!"

This post was serious enough to be raised in a written Diet inquiry.

That same year, he mocked Amnesty International after it pulled out of Hong Kong. Celebrating Amnesty's departure in an X post, he wrote, "Another pest exterminated!", effectively calling the human-rights NGO "vermin."

Xue also targeted a range of critics in earlier posts. He smeared the Dalai Lama as "the biggest feudal oppressor in Tibet before China's 'peaceful liberation'." The consul general also derided The Sankei Shimbun as "rabidly anti-China trash media."

More recently, in June 2025, Xue posted an image comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, placing the Israeli flag beside a blurred swastika. In the post, he listed "similarities" such as ignoring international law and building settlements. Israel's ambassador publicly condemned the tweet, which Xue later deleted.

United States Ambassador George Glass responded with sharp irony on X. In a November 10 post, he called on Beijing to start behaving like "'the good neighbor' it talks repeatedly about－but fails repeatedly to become."

*US Ambassador to Japan George Glass (©Sankei by Kotaro Hikono)*

Hiroyuki: 'Send Him Back.'

Xue's comments have since dominated Japanese media and prompted pointed criticism online, including from widely followed political commentators.

On November 16, entrepreneur Hiroyuki Nishimura spoke about the incident on his YouTube channel, arguing that Japan cannot afford to treat Xue's remark lightly. "He's the kind of person who repeatedly makes sharp, provocative statements," Hiroyuki said, noting that this was not the first time Xue had attracted attention for inflammatory messaging. If Japan were to tolerate such rhetoric, he warned, Beijing would draw the conclusion that "there is no penalty for crossing the line."

On his November 16 YouTube broadcast, Hiroyuki argued that the Osaka Consul-General's outburst was hardly an isolated incident. "He's always doing edgy things," he said, adding that Japan should "send him back and replace him."

No Remorse

Online talk show ABEMA Prime covered the controversy in depth on November 14. During the program, Komeito's Isa Shinichi criticized Xue's behavior, noting that a consul general's role is fundamentally incompatible with this kind of rhetoric. "A consul general is supposed to build good relations with the local community and promote cooperation," he said. "His behavior is not appropriate for someone in that position."

Isa emphasized that Xue's subsequent posts demonstrate a lack of remorse. "He deleted the decapitation post only because Japan protested," Isha said. "He is still posting other incendiary statements. That means he does not think he did anything wrong."

His conclusion was blunt: "Someone who keeps doing this cannot credibly represent China in diplomatic relations with Japan."

Author: Daniel Manning