The Chinese government urged its citizens on Friday to avoid visiting Japan as recent remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Japan's potential involvement in a Taiwan contingency grow into a wider diplomatic row.

China's Foreign Ministry said provocative comments by Japan's leader have caused "the atmosphere surrounding people-to-people exchanges to deteriorate severely, posing significant risks to the safety of Chinese people" in Japan.

It also claimed that Japan has become less safe this year, calling on Chinese people who live in Japan to "pay attention to the law and order situation" in the country and remain vigilant so as not to fall victim to crimes.

The travel alert, coming after a series of warnings to Japan from the Chinese government, appears to be part of Beijing's effort to cast Tokyo as being responsible for heightening bilateral tensions because of its position toward China.

Takaichi told a parliamentary committee session last week that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan could present a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, possibly leading it to exercise its right to collective self-defense.

China protested the remarks and demanded that the prime minister retract them. Japan, for its part, protested a social media post by a Chinese diplomat in Osaka made in response to her remarks, demanding that Beijing take appropriate action.

Chinese tourists make up a significant portion of foreign visitors to Japan. Between January and September of this year, around 31.65 million foreigners visited Japan, of whom roughly 7.49 million were from China, the most by country or region, according to government data.

In their first face-to-face meeting as leaders in South Korea late last month, Takaichi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to promote "strategic and mutually beneficial" ties between the two countries.

China views Taiwan, the democratically governed island across the strait, as a renegade province that must be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary.