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Beijing sanctions former Japanese military chief for ‘colluding with Taiwan separatists’
Beijing lodged a protest with Tokyo in March after Shigeru Iwasaki was named an honorary adviser to the island’s Executive Yuan
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Beijing has imposed sanctions on Shigeru Iwasaki, former chief of the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defence Forces, saying he had “colluded with separatist forces” in Taiwan, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday.
It comes after Beijing lodged a protest with Tokyo in March over the appointment of Iwasaki, a retired four-star air force general, as an honorary adviser to the Executive Yuan, the Taiwanese government’s highest administrative body.
As Japan’s chief of the Joint Staff from 2012 to 2014, Iwasaki was the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the country and third in the military command chain after the prime minister and defence minister.
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The “countermeasures” include freezing Iwasaki’s movable and immovable assets and other types of property within China, the foreign ministry statement said.
It said organisations and individuals in China were also barred from engaging in transactions, cooperation or other activities with Iwasaki.
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In addition, Iwasaki has been prohibited from obtaining a visa or entry into mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
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