Reports said Chinese people are visiting Japan with passport covers for Taiwan or Japan. Tensions between China and Japan have risen since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks about "intervening in a Taiwan contingency."
According to Japanese outlet Nikkan Sports and Taiwan's Taibao on the 5th, a Chinese national recently posted on social media that before a trip to Japan, the person bought a green cover labeled "Republic of China (Taiwan)" to hide a Chinese passport and said it "made traveling more convenient."
Another Chinese person showed a Japanese passport cover for sale on the Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao and even advised that "you can pretend to be Japanese."
Taibao interpreted that Chinese people are attempting this "passport swap" out of concern they will be discriminated against in Japan. Diplomatic tensions have risen recently, with China issuing an advisory to refrain from travel following Prime Minister Sanae's remarks about intervening in a Taiwan contingency.
The so-called passport swap tips posted by a Chinese national are quickly spreading online in Japan via Taiwan. In Japan, reactions include "I've never seen people from other countries do this," and "pathetic."
The Chinese government also issued an advisory urging Chinese nationals to refrain from traveling to Japan.