Xue Jian may be forced to resign at any time

Direct translation

It will be too late if Chinese diplomat Xue Jian is not severely punished soon. He may be forced to resign at any time

Editor : Fang Xun / Source : Central News Agency /  https://www.aboluowang.com/2025/1114/2305040.html

In response to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's inquiry regarding a potential threat to Taiwan, Chinese Consul General Xue Jian made a beheading remark on social media. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi today urged China to take appropriate action. Scholars analyze that, based on the terms of previous Chinese Consuls General in Osaka, Xue Jian may be nearing the end of his term, and they are calling on the government to severely punish him while he is still in Japan.

Motegi, who is currently in Canada attending the G7 foreign ministers' meeting, stated today that "(Xue Jian's) remarks were extremely inappropriate for a head of a diplomatic mission abroad," and has strongly urged China to take appropriate measures, but did not mention whether Xue Jian would be declared "persona non grata" and expelled.

Professor Emeritus Homare Endo of the University of Tsukuba wrote that Xue Jian took office on 29 June 2021, and will complete his four-year and five-month term on 28 November 2025. The longest term for a Chinese Consul General in Osaka is only four years and four months. In other words, Xue Jian has broken the record and is nearing the end of his term, and could be transferred back to China at any time.

She stated that Motegi's current focus should not be on "strongly demanding that China take appropriate measures," but rather on immediately and severely punishing Xue Jian while he is still in Japan.

A review of the terms of office of past Chinese Consuls General in Osaka reveals that only five have served more than four years, including Xue Jian. Of these five, one served in the 1970s, and two in the 1990s. Since 2000, only Liu Yiren, who took office in December 2011, has served more than four years (4 years and 4 months), making Xue Jian the current record holder for the longest term.

Endo Homare suggested that Xue Jian's exceptionally long term might be partly due to Japan hosting the Osaka-Kansai Expo (which closed on 13 October 2025), but it is highly likely that he will return to China around 28 November 2025, after four years and five months, citing the "expiration of his term."

She pointed out that Motegi, who has served two terms as Foreign Minister and has close ties with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, should be very familiar with the terms of office for Chinese ambassadors and consuls general. She urged Motegi to immediately expel Xue Jian from Japan, instead of waiting for Xue Jian's term to expire and his return to China, then repackaging it as a false declaration of "I demanded severe punishment from China, and China allowed Xue Jian to return home." She called on Motegi to "toughen up."

Image : Xue Jian, the Chinese Consul General in Osaka, sparked a diplomatic row between China and Japan with his "decapitation" remarks. (Source: Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website)

China has consistently maintained a supportive stance towards Xue Jian's statement. According to the Mainichi Shimbun, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian reiterated today that "it was a personal statement by a diplomat stationed in Japan, a response to dangerous rhetoric advocating for military intervention in the Taiwan Strait," and added that "Japan should not confuse right and wrong, but should reflect on its own erroneous words and actions."

Lin Jian also criticized that "some Japanese politicians and media deliberately incited this matter in an attempt to divert attention."