BEIJING (Kyodo) -- China doubled down on its criticism of Japan on Tuesday following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks about her country's potential involvement in a Taiwan emergency, invoking past Japanese military aggression.

In a post on X, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo said Japan has a history of justifying its aggression under the pretext of an "existential crisis," citing the 1931 Mukden Incident, a false-flag event staged by Japan's military that preceded its invasion of Manchuria in northeastern China.

The embassy cited a document issued by the Japanese government in the wake of the establishment of Manchukuo, a puppet state created in Manchuria in 1932, which said the Chinese area was "inseparable from the (Japanese) empire for national defense and for public survival."

Last Friday, Takaichi told a parliamentary committee that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan could be a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, which could lead it to exercise its right to collective self-defense.

Her remarks concerning Taiwan have triggered a strong backlash from Beijing, with Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian threatening Saturday on X to "cut a dirty neck without a moment of hesitation." The post later became inaccessible.

In another X post, the Chinese Embassy in Japan cited its spokesperson's response to a reporter on a question over Takaichi's remarks.

"Now that Japan is again raising the words 'survival-threatening situation,' attempting to tie itself to the war machine of splitting China, one cannot help but wonder if Japan is going to repeat its past mistakes," it said.

The Global Times, a tabloid affiliated with the Communist Party, has introduced in its article a Chinese expert's view on Takaichi's remarks, which said, "if Japan were to take the initiative to militarily intervene in a conflict in the Taiwan Straits, it would only end up getting itself burned for playing with fire."

Regarding Xue's post, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei said Tuesday it highlighted "reckless and hegemonic mentality" of mainland Chinese diplomats.

Hsiao said Xue's threat showed "disrespect and discourtesy toward the head of another government" and "fell below the standards of a civilized and law-abiding country," adding that such an "inappropriate conduct" damages Beijing's international image.

Communist-ruled China and Taiwan have been governed separately since they split due to a civil war in 1949. China views the self-ruled democratic island as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.