BEIJING (Kyodo) -- Major Chinese airlines said Saturday they will allow passengers to cancel or change Japan-bound flights free of charge after the Chinese government urged its citizens to avoid visiting Japan, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on Taiwan escalate into a wider diplomatic row.

China's Foreign Ministry, in issuing the travel alert on Friday, 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.

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.

Without providing specific data, the Chinese ministry also claimed that Japan has become less safe this year, calling on Chinese people living in Japan to "pay attention to the law and order situation" and remain vigilant so as not to fall victim to crimes.

China has protested Takaichi's remarks and demanded that the prime minister retract them. Japan, for its part, lodged a protest over a social media post by a Chinese diplomat in Osaka made in response to her comments, calling on Beijing to take appropriate action.

Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian recently threatened in a post on X to "cut a dirty neck without a moment of hesitation." The post later became inaccessible.

Following China's travel alert, some social media users in China said they have given up traveling to Japan or decided to boycott Japanese products.

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

In the July-September period, consumption by Chinese tourists in Japan amounted to some 590 billion yen ($3.8 billion), the highest figure by country or region, Japan Tourism Agency data showed.

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.

Both Takaichi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang are set to attend the Group of 20 summit to be held in South Africa later this month, but it remains unknown whether they can arrange a meeting on the sidelines of the event.

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.