The Foreign Ministry headquarters is seen in this file photo taken on Feb. 2, 2019. (Mainichi)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's Foreign Ministry said Friday it will create the post of a senior official who will exclusively deal with issues related to Taiwan as tensions between the self-ruled democratic island and China escalate.

       The creation of the new post in the ministry's First China and Mongolia Division in the next fiscal year starting in April could spark a furious backlash from Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

       The ministry revealed the plan at a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Foreign Affairs Division, according to Masahisa Sato, a House of Councillors lawmaker.

       Sato, who heads the division, told reporters that the ministry has "more work regarding Taiwan in terms of security, foreign and economic affairs. This is a big step forward."

       The senior diplomat will be in charge of work such as collecting information on the Taiwan Strait situation and increased exchanges between Taiwanese high-ranking officials and their European and U.S. counterparts, according to the ministry.

       In addition, it said the diplomat will be tasked with handling maritime issues, including those regarding the Senkakus, a group of uninhabited islets controlled by Japan but claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.

       China, known for expanding its territorial claims in recent years, has frequently sent coast guard ships near the islets in the East China Sea, causing friction with Tokyo.

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