China warns of ‘heavy price’ for Japan after lawmakers visit Taiwan 

Shigeru Ishiba, a member of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo, Aug. 6, 2024. Ishiba is a potential candidate to become Japan's next prime minister. FILE - Seiji Maehara, then Japan's foreign minister, speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, March 6, 2011.

China warned Japan on Friday that it should be prepared “to pay a heavy price" if it interferes with Beijing’s plans for Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing considers a breakaway province that must one day reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary.