In his first one-on-one parliamentary debate with opposition leaders Wednesday, Suga, naming Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan, said, "Such three countries have been imposing strong restrictions on privacy rights" to curb the novel coronavirus outbreak, reports Kyodo.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson targeted the Japanese PM over the remark and said, "China is strongly dissatisfied with Japan's wrong remarks and has lodged solemn representations to the Japanese side. We ask Japan to make prompt clarification, remove the severe damage and ensure that such things won't happen again."

"There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question bears on the political foundation of China-Japan relations, the basic trust and good faith between the two countries and the international rule of law and justice. We seriously urge the Japanese side to earnestly honor its commitment, be prudent in words and actions, avoid undermining China's sovereignty in any form and refrain from sending any wrong signal to the 'Taiwan independence' forces," he said.