Bilateral relations between China and Japan have cratered in the aftermath of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s recent comments about Taiwan.

Outside of the media furor and diplomatic hand-wringing, however, daily life continues for the more than 800,000 Chinese people who call Japan home ¡ª including many children and teenagers who have grown up here.

¡°Politics and daily life in Japan are very separate,¡± says Zhang Yinan, 36, a native of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, who spent her childhood in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture. Zhang asked that her name be changed to protect her privacy. ¡°Neighbors, teachers or students don¡¯t act differently because of a spat between the two governments.¡±