BEIJING/TOKYO — China imposed sanctions on Monday on Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya, a close aide to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, for what it called his “collusion with Taiwan independence” forces, in its latest move in a diplomatic row over Taiwan.

Japan said Beijing’s action on Mr. Furuya was “absolutely unacceptable”, and called for its swift retraction.

Mr. Furuya, as the head of a cross-party Japan-Taiwan lawmakers group, has visited Taiwan many times accompanying Japanese political leaders, most recently earlier this month to meet its President Lai Ching-te in Taipei.

The Chinese ministry accused Mr. Furuya of colluding with “separatist forces” in Taiwan, as he made trips to the island “in defiance of China’s strong opposition”.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory, objects to official visits by foreign politicians to the island as they are seen to be undermining the “One China” principle and Beijing’s claim over the island.

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

The Chinese ministry said Mr. Furuya’s actions “constitute gross interference in China’s internal affairs, and seriously undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

In response, Japan’s deputy chief cabinet secretary Masanao Ozaki said China’s “unilateral action, using (Furuya’s) conduct as a pretext to intimidate those with differing views, is absolutely unacceptable”.

Mr. Furuya, a member of the lower house of parliament, told reporters that Beijing’s move would have no impact, as he had not visited mainland China in decades and had no assets there.

“Our parliamentary group is simply doing what comes naturally, to foster exchanges between countries that share common values,” Mr. Furuya said.

Mr. Furuya has been close to Ms. Takaichi, supporting her election as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader last year.

China imposed the sanctions in response to Mr. Furuya’s “abominable acts”, said Mao Ning, spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry, at a regular news conference on Monday.

“The Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests, and is a red line that must absolutely not be crossed,” Ms. Mao said.

Ties between Tokyo and Beijing have deteriorated since Ms. Takaichi suggested last November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a Japanese military response.

Last year, Beijing also sanctioned China-born Japanese lawmaker Seki Hei and former Japanese military chief of staff Shigeru Iwasaki for their remarks on issues including Taiwan. — Reuters

SEOUL — South Korea is considering extending driving curbs to the general public if global oil prices climb further, senior officials said, as authorities seek to rein in energy demand amid supply strains due to the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said on Sunday the government could expand restrictions on passenger car use beyond public institutions if crude prices rise to around $120–$130 a barrel, up from the current $100–$110 range.

If expanded to the entire public, the policy would mark the country’s first nationwide driving curbs since the 1991 Gulf War, when the government imposed a 10-day vehicle rotation system to conserve energy.

“If the Middle East situation worsens, the crisis alert would have to move up to the ‘warning’ stage, and around that point we would need to curb consumption,” Mr. Koo said on a local broadcast, referring to a move up to the third-highest level in the country’s four-stage resource security crisis alert system.

He added the government may also consider further fuel tax cuts to ease the burden on households.

The finance ministry said in a separate media release on Monday that mandatory driving curbs for the private sector remain undecided, adding that authorities would weigh energy supply conditions and broader economic factors before taking any action.

South Korea imports about 70% of its crude oil from the Middle East, leaving the country highly exposed to supply disruptions and sharp price swings stemming from tensions in the region.

The government last week enforced a mandatory five-day vehicle rotation system for the public sector, restricting vehicle use based on license plate numbers.

Energy Minister Kim Sung-whan said last Thursday authorities were reviewing tighter demand-management measures should the alert level rise further, including widening enforcement of driving curbs, while encouraging voluntary participation by companies and the financial sector.

Major conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics and SK Group have joined the effort, urging employees to cut back on private car use and adopt fuel-saving measures.

Lawmakers and senior politicians have also taken to social media, posting about using public transport and bicycles to set an example and calling on the public to join energy-saving efforts. — Reuters

BEIJING — China’s top diplomat in Hong Kong has met the senior US diplomat in the city to protest against a US public alert over new security rules in Hong Kong, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

In a statement released late on Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry’s Hong Kong office said Commissioner Cui Jianchun met US Consul General Julie Eadeh on March 27 and expressed “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition”, urging Washington to stop interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs and China’s internal affairs “in any form”.

Hong Kong this month amended its enforcement rules for the national security regime, making it an offense in national security cases to refuse to provide passwords or other decryption assistance to access an electronic device.

In response to the rule changes, the US Consulate General in Hong Kong issued a security alert on March 26, calling for contact with the Consulate in case US citizens are arrested or detained in connection with the new security enforcement rules.

“We do not discuss the details of diplomatic engagements,” a US Consulate spokesperson said in response to a request for comment. — Reuters

JERUSALEM — Israel blocked Jerusalem’s Catholic cardinal from marking Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, sparking an international outcry that led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reverse the ban for the remainder of Holy Week.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Friar Francesco Ielpo from entering the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead.

The police cited security concerns related to the war in Iran for the ban.

“As a result, and for the first time in centuries, the Heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” it said in a statement.

Mr. Netanyahu posted on social media just after midnight that he instructed relevant authorities to grant full and immediate access to the cardinal.

“Today, out of special concern for his safety, Cardinal Pizzaballa was asked to refrain from holding Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” he said.

“Even though I understand this concern, as soon as I learned about the incident with Cardinal Pizzaballa, I instructed the authorities to enable the Patriarch to hold services as he wishes.”

Israeli police said all holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City – including those sacred to Christians, Muslims, and Jews – had been closed to worshippers since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, particularly locations without bomb shelters.

Police said they had rejected a request from the Patriarchate for a Palm Sunday exemption.

“The Old City and the holy sites constitute a complex area that does not allow access for large emergency and rescue vehicles, which significantly challenges response capabilities and poses a real risk to human life in the event of a mass casualty incident,” police said.

RESTRICTIONS AFFECT EASTER, RAMADAN, PASSOVER

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the most important week in the Christian calendar, leading to Easter. The Old City would typically be busy, with Roman Catholics passing through the massive wooden doors of the Holy Sepulchre.

This year, Christians, Muslims, and Jews have been unable to observe Easter, Ramadan or Passover as usual due to police restrictions. Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque was largely empty during Ramadan, and few worshippers have come to Judaism’s Western Wall as Passover approaches on Wednesday.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized the police action and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on social media that he would summon Israel’s ambassador over the incident.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron condemned the Israeli police’s decision, which he said “adds to the worrying increase in violations of the status of the Holy Places in Jerusalem”.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said denying the Patriarch’s entry to the church on Palm Sunday was “difficult to understand or justify”.

The Vatican did not respond to a request for comment. On Sunday, Pope Leo said that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have “hands full of blood”, in unusually forceful remarks as the Iran war entered its second month.

INCONSISTENT ENFORCEMENT, RESIDENTS SAY

On March 16, shrapnel from ballistic missiles fired by Iran and debris from Israeli interceptors ​that shot them down fell by the church and the nearby hilltop plateau​ known to Muslims as Al-Aqsa compound and to Jews ​as Temple Mount.

Residents of the Old City and religious officials said police restrictions on worship had not been implemented consistently.

They noted that Muslim Waqf preachers were able to access Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, and that cleaners were permitted ahead of Passover to remove prayer notes from the Western Wall, an annual ritual.

On Sunday, Franciscan friars and worshippers were also allowed into another Old City shrine, a short walk through the Old City’s narrow alleyways from the Holy Sepulchre, to mark Palm Sunday. A Reuters photograph showed around a dozen people bowing their heads in prayer and carrying palm fronds. — Reuters