Beijing sanctions China-born Japan lawmaker; Tokyo slams 'unacceptable' move

Beijing, China/Tokyo, Japan - China said on Monday it was sanctioning Japanese lawmaker Seki Hei, a China-born Japanese citizen and outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party — a decision Tokyo condemned as an unacceptable attempt to stifle free expression.

A Chinese foreign ministry statement said that Seki, also known by his Chinese name Shi Ping, "has long spread fallacies on issues such as Taiwan, the Diaoyu Islands, history, Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong."

Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Seki has "betrayed his roots, sold his conscience, colluded with anti-China forces" and "China's countermeasures serve as a strong punishment and a stern warning to people" like him.

The ministry statement said the lawmaker had violated the China-Japan joint statement inked in 1972, "seriously interfered in China's internal affairs" and damaged China's "sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Yoshimasa Hayashi, Tokyo's top government spokesperson, said Beijing's action "that appears to intimidate those with differing views" was "absolutely unacceptable".

"Lawmakers' freedom of expression is fundamental to Japan's democracy," Hayashi told a regular briefing, adding Tokyo has requested Beijing swiftly withdraw the measures on Seki.

China will from Monday freeze any property of Seki's in the country and prohibit any Chinese organizations and individuals from conducting related transactions, cooperation and other activities with them, the statement said.

Seki and his family will not be issued visas or be able to enter mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, it said.

Having authored dozens of books in Japanese about what he called China's threats, Seki won a seat in July in Japan's upper house election where he ran with the opposition Japan Innovation Party on a campaign focused on China policy, immigration and national sovereignty.

"I am a Japanese lawmaker, so China's sanctions over my remarks go against our universal values and constitute interference in Japan's internal affairs," Seki told Reuters.

Earlier, in a post on social media website X, he wrote that he had "no assets in China or any intention of going there either" and China's sanctions were "nothing but a mere farce".

(Reporting by Ethan Wang in Beijing and Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; Writing by Farah Master in Hong Kong; Editing by Christian Schmollinger, William Maclean)