Politics
China Drops PM Takaichi's Title as Xi Brands Japan 'Neo-Militarist'
China's foreign ministry referred to Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi by name without the usual title at a Sept. 30 briefing, and around the same time Xi Jinping was reported to have called Japan 'neo-militarist' at a US-China summit, with Trump reportedly telling him to take it up with Takaichi directly. Japanese commenters treated the snub less as an outrage than as pettiness, mocking China as thin-skinned and small for a major power. Many read the moves as a sign of Chinese frustration with the Takaichi government, and the summit exchange was ridiculed as 'complaint diplomacy' that Washington waved off.