Tension between Japan and China has escalated over the new Japanese leader's suggestion Tokyo could intervene militarily if Beijing attacks Taiwan.

A US missile system that could strike Beijing has been withdrawn from Japan, Japanese media reported on Monday, amid sharply escalating tensions triggered by the Japanese prime minister's recent remarks on Taiwan.

The Japanese public is divided on whether Japan should exercise its right to collective self-defence if China attacks Taiwan, a Kyodo news agency poll found on Sunday.

Victim who is ‘slapped hard’ on the buttocks chases assailant, kicks him in the belly; police respond by saying there is nothing they can do.