As relations with China continue to deteriorate, Japan is embarking on its biggest military buildup in at least four decades.

Japan is threatening China militarily which is "completely unacceptable", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his German counterpart, after Japan said that Chinese fighter jets had aimed their radar at Japanese military aircraft.

Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan fuelled nationalist narratives in both Japan and China, straining bilateral ties.

Diplomatic crises often change the stakes for each, and for the Japanese, the consequences of this crisis are multifaceted. Japan’s new prime minister, Takaichi Sanae, was the initial focal point. As the Washington Post editorial board aptly noted,

No end in sight to spat between Japan and China over Taiwan, as neither Tokyo nor Beijing shows signs of backing down.

Taiwan and Japan voiced concern on Friday over Chinese military activities in the region, after Reuters reported that Beijing had deployed a large number of vessels across East Asian waters this week in its largest maritime show of force to date.

China and Japan are two of Asia’s most powerful nations and the region’s biggest trading partners. Yet centuries of intense rivalry mean their economic embrace can never be taken for granted.