AdvertisementAdvertisementEast AsiaTaiwan President Lai Ching-te with his lunch of Japanese-sourced sushi, in this photo uploaded on Nov 20, 2025. (Photo: Facebook/賴清德)20 Nov 2025 03:49PM (Updated: 20 Nov 2025 03:56PM) Bookmark Bookmark WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedInRead a summary of this article on FAST.Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST TAIPEI: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te showed his support for Japan on Thursday (Nov 20) with a lunch of Japanese-sourced sushi, after China indicated it would ban all imports of the country's seafood in an escalating dispute over the Chinese-claimed island.Tensions between the two countries ignited after new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said this month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan threatening Japan's survival could trigger a military response.Lai, in pictures on his social media feeds, showed himself eating a sushi lunch of yellowtail from Japan's Kagoshima and scallops from Hokkaido."Today's lunch is sushi and miso soup," he wrote on his Facebook and Instagram feeds, and used the same wording in Japanese on his X account. Taiwan's government, which rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, has in recent years been subject to similar food export bans by China, including of Taiwanese pineapples and fish, in what Taipei has said is part of a Chinese pressure campaign.Speaking to reporters at parliament earlier on Thursday, Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said China's use of economic coercion and military intimidation to "bully other nations are already too numerous to mention individually". "At this critical juncture, we must also support Japan in effectively stabilising the situation and halting the Chinese communists' bullying behaviour."Japan and Taiwan have a close though unofficial relationship and deep cultural and business ties. Japan ruled Taiwan from 1895 until the end of World War II in 1945.Japanese seafood caught up in escalating diplomatic dispute with ChinaChina-Japan diplomatic row: What’s driving Beijing’s anger - and why this time is differentSource: Reuters/dyNewsletterWeek in ReviewSubscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in ReviewOur chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.NewsletterMorning BriefSubscribe to CNA’s Morning BriefAn automated curation of our top stories to start your day.Sign up for our newslettersGet our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inboxSubscribe hereGet the CNA appStay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best storiesDownload hereGet WhatsApp alertsJoin our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat appJoin hereAlso worth readingContent is loading...Expand to read the full storyGet bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try.Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FASTFAST