China Drops PM Takaichi's Title as Xi Brands Japan 'Neo-Militarist'

Why This Topic Landed in Japan

Since the Takaichi government took office, Beijing's pointed signals toward Tokyo have become a recurring theme online. Two of them landed on the same days: at a Sept. 30 press briefing China's foreign ministry referred to the prime minister simply as "Sanae Takaichi," without the "prime minister" title, and around the same time Xi Jinping was reported to have described Japan as "neo-militarist" at a US-China summit, with Trump reportedly responding that he should raise it with Takaichi directly. The exact wording of those remarks has not been confirmed in available reporting, though Japanese officials say Trump briefed Takaichi after the summit.

What caught fire was less the substance than the optics. Commenters fixated on the gap between China's size as a power and what they saw as small, thin-skinned behavior, reading the name snub as a sign of impatience rather than strength. The summit episode was received as Beijing trying to criticize Japan through a third party (Washington) and being brushed off — framed widely as "tattletale" or "begging" diplomacy.

Key Reaction Themes

• Mockery of China as petty and small — The most common response treated the name snub as "lame" and "childish," riffing on the contrast between China's vast territory and what commenters called its small-mindedness.
• "Proof it's working" — A sizable strand read Beijing's behavior as evidence that the Takaichi government is getting under China's skin, i.e., a sign of frustration rather than confidence.
• Ridicule of the summit exchange — Xi's "neo-militarist" charge was dismissed with lines like "from a country without even conscription," and Trump's reported "tell them yourself" response was enjoyed as a brush-off.
• A smaller hardline strand — A minority framed the snub as a national insult or called for Japan to respond in kind rather than take the high road.

What Japanese Netizens Are Saying

China's foreign ministry drops PM Takaichi's title

China's foreign ministry spokesperson referred to PM Takaichi by name without the "prime minister" title at a press briefing, treated as an unusual move.

Sources: Yahoo! news, Nikkei, 2ch, 2ch

Comments:

• "That's so weak, lol"
• "Next time just call her 'Sana' already"
• "They should just invent a 'Shukin-Pay' and drop his name all they want" [Translator's note: "Shukin-Pay" puns on Xi Jinping's Japanese reading, Shu Kinpei, and shūkin, "money-collecting."]
• "Dropping the title must mean they're close — are they pro-Japan now? lol"
• "China really has way too little composure, lol"
• "Broadcasting to the world again that they're a bizarre country — what are they even trying to do?"
• "They're steadily turning into North Korea"
• "Too big in area to call a small country, too small in character to call a great power — which is exactly why it's called the Middle Kingdom."
• "By reciprocity we should hit back too; all this 'take the high road, be the adult' nonsense just lets them keep pushing us around."
• "The message here is that China is hostile to Takaichi, not to the Japanese people — it's a provocation calibrated in their own way."
• "Their intimacy level went up — soon they'll be calling her 'Sana'"
• "These guys really fuss over Confucian etiquette — dropping someone's title is supposed to be unthinkable for them"
• "Should we treat this as a national insult? However disappointing the PM may be, insulting Japan's first female PM ought to count as an insult to all Japanese."
• "Seeing stuff like this, you realize they're no different from North Korea"
• "In China the foreign ministry is where people who've fallen off the promotion track end up — like a manga editorial department at Shogakukan, an unbelievable treasure trove of 'talent.'"

Xi's 'neo-militarist' jab and Trump's response at the summit

Xi Jinping was reported to have called Japan "neo-militarist" at a US-China summit, with Trump reportedly telling him to take it up directly with PM Takaichi.

Sources: Yahoo! news, 2ch

Comments:

• "Tattletale diplomacy, lol"
• "Listen to 'old-model militarism' over there running its mouth"
• "And this is a country that doesn't even have conscription…"
• "Nicely done — I'm so reassured and grateful that the leader of a great power is this tolerant and wise."
• "Nobody even knows the definition of 'neo-militarism.' They stoke fear that 'today's Japan is it! It's dangerous!' — but no one can say what the danger actually is."
• "Begging-for-help diplomacy"
• "Well, if Japan and China fight, America profits, so of course it won't take either side"
• "China: 'Japan is a terrible guy! Honorable America, please say something to them too! 😭' America: 'Tell them yourself, idiot.'"
• "Xi Jinping, forever running away"
• "China is old-school militarism, so against Japan's 'neo'-militarism it's several laps behind, lol"
• "Funny, since the US is the one telling Japan to shoulder more of the defense burden, lol"
• "From Trump's side you'd want to say 'why are you telling me?', lol"
• "'New capitalism' → 'new militarism'"
• "He's of a whole different caliber than Putin"
• "If specializing in defense, not conscripting, and not invading or attacking other countries is what they call 'neo-militarism,' then feeling threatened by that means…"