There is a hurricane force storm brewing in a tea cup - this time ocha green tea in Japan and China. The less than four week old new, first female Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi has bungled big time when she told the Japanese Parliament that if China attacks Taiwan, then it will be a strategic threat and danger to Japan (or words to that effect).
Implying that Japan will have to intervene militarily. Of course this was an unusually loud mouthed and poorly thought statement to make about any neighbour, particularly China. Of course the Chinese took offense and released a series of statements protesting the Japanese "recalcitrance".
To save the day the super efficient Japanese Civil Service kicked into action. A ranking Foreign Ministry official with extraordinary skills at bowing down and touching the floor with his forehead was immediately despatched to Beijing - without taking a seppuku kit with him. The Chinese may have preferred the seppuku kit but they had to satisfy themselves with giving an earful to the Japanese envoy.
Here is a 30 minute video but the first 60 seconds gives you a good idea. Why waste more time?
I suspect the Japanese PM was addressing a domestic audience only (without realising that her speech went out live to Tanzania and the Falklands). I believe she was trying to remind the Japanese people that they should allow the US Navy to remain at Yokosuka Naval base for another 100 years.
This storm will likely blow itself out over the next day or two.
