The foreign ministry said on Thursday that Beijing summoned the Japanese ambassador to China over former prime minister Shinzo Abe's extremely erroneous remarks on Taiwan, as tensions rise over the democratic island.
With Chinese warplanes making historically high levels of incursions into Taiwan's air defence zone in recent months, fears have grown among Western allies like the US and Japan that Beijing could order an invasion, even if they consider it unlikely for now.
Self-ruled Taiwan lives under threat of military action by China, which views the island as its own territory and has vowed to seize it one day.
In a video speech to a forum organised by a Taiwanese think-tank on Wednesday, Abe said an emergency for Taipei would be one for Japan as well, warning that people in Beijing, particularly President Xi Jinping, should not misjudge that a military adventure would lead to economic suicide.
In response, China's foreign ministry summoned Japanese ambassador Hideo Tarumi Wednesday evening, telling him that comments were grossly interfered in China's internal affairs.
In history, Japan has launched a war of aggression against China, committing heinous crimes against the Chinese, said Hua Chunying, assistant minister of foreign affairs.
It has no right to make irresponsible remarks on the issue of Taiwan. Since President Tsai Ing-wen stepped down in 2016 and has risen pressure on the island, Beijing has risen pressure since then, as he rejects the stance that Taiwan is part of one China came to power in 2016.
The Pentagon unveiled plans to strengthen deployments and bases in China and expand military facilities in Guam and Australia earlier this week.
With tensions high between Beijing and Washington, Japan is in a tough position between two world powers that are both key trade partners.
The key US ally has publicly protested the presence of Chinese vessels around disputed islets because of the growing public support for China's maritime expansion and military build-up.