TOKYO — China announced sanctions on Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya, accusing him of colluding with separatists in Taiwan. The sanctions ban Furuya from entering China, including Hong Kong and Macao, and prohibit his activities with organizations and individuals in China, effective immediately, according to China's Foreign Ministry.

The government of Japan called China's sanctions on Furuya unacceptable and regrettable and demanded that China retract them immediately. "The one-sided action taken by China as if to intimidate those of different views than its own is absolutely unacceptable," said Masanao Ozaki, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary. "It is extremely regrettable from the perspective of the Japan-China relations," he said.

Furuya, a close ally of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, heads a bipartisan Japan-Taiwan lawmakers' consultation council and has visited Taiwan regularly. He visited Taipei, Taiwan, in mid-March and held talks with President Lai Ching-te. Sanae Takaichi headed the election strategy for the governing Liberal Democratic Party ahead of the party's electoral victory in February.

China's Foreign Ministry said Furuya's activities violate the one-China principle and grossly interfere in China's internal affairs and seriously undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. China accused Furuya of repeatedly visiting Taiwan despite China's strong opposition. "The Taiwan question is at the core of China's core interests, as well as the red line that must not be crossed," said Mao Ning, Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

Furuya said that he learned of the sanctions through the Japanese Foreign Ministry. "It is only natural for parliamentary groups to promote exchanges between countries with shared values," he said. He said he had not visited China for decades and had no personal assets in China. "So I don't think there is any impact from the sanctions," he said.

The sanctions follow tensions between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan. Last November, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that a hypothetical Chinese military action against Taiwan would create a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan that would justify Japanese troop engagement. Last year, China sanctioned Seki Hei, a Chinese-born and naturalized Japanese opposition lawmaker, for allegedly spreading fallacies about Taiwan and other disputed territories. The one-China principle holds that Taiwan is a province of China.