Photo: Screenshot from the video clip

A Japanese man who filmed a video of himself holding up China's national flag and stating that "Taiwan belongs to China" with another Japanese man in a shopping district in Taipei, China's Taiwan region, was expelled from the island, according to several Japanese and local Taiwan media outlets.

On Tuesday, a Weibo account, self-describing his real name as "Hiroyuki Tanaka" and is believed to belong to one of the Japanese men, released a post, saying in a video that "Taiwan is China's territory, this is a fact," and "I absolutely support the one-China principle." 

An online video circulating recently shows two Japanese men holding the Five-Star Red Flag, China's national flag, in the Ximending district, a bustling area of Taipei, China's Taiwan region, while declaring that "Taiwan is part of China", according to media reports.

Taiwan local authority said Monday that both individuals are Japanese nationals who entered the region visa-free.

It stated that the act "posed a potential threat to public security and order," and ordered the man to leave the island of Taiwan. The other man, who left Taiwan on the day of filming, has been banned from entering the region in the future, according to media reports.

In a video posted on the same account on Monday, the two men, suspected to be the two above-mentioned Japanese men, repeatedly said in both Chinese and Japanese, "We are Japanese, we love China," "We like China very much," and "Taiwan is of course part of China."

According to the relevant information released by the Weibo account holder, Yuki previously graduated from Waseda University, saying that he has a strong affection for Chinese culture, and has studied and worked in the Chinese mainland before.

Currently, he is engaged in Japanese teaching. In December 2024, Yuki said on Weibo that he had registered his marriage with a woman from Taiwan in Taipei.


Global Times