TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Wednesday she is "always open" to dialogue with China despite a diplomatic row between Tokyo and Beijing over comments she made about Taiwan. "China is an important neighbor for Japan, and we need to build constructive and stable relationships," Takaichi said during a news conference. "Japan is always open to dialogue with China. We're not shutting our door." China and Japan are enmeshed in a spat over Takaichi's suggestion in November that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan. Beijing claims the self-ruled democratic island as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. The comments triggered a sharp diplomatic backlash from China, which has urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan. Official data released on Wednesday showed the warning has had an impact on visitor numbers. Arrivals from mainland China to Japan last month edged up just three percent from a year earlier, the weakest growth since January 2022, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)