Both sides have now likened each other to Harry Potter villain in diplomatic row played out in articles in British press

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

A week after a Chinese envoy compared Japan to Lord Voldemort, Japan's ambassador to Britain has also invoked Harry Potter's arch-enemy to accuse Beijing of raising tensions amid disputes over territory and wartime history.

In an opinion piece in the Daily Telegraph, Keiichi Hayashi said China was attempting to use "coercion" to change the status quo in the Asia-Pacific region, and defended Japan's postwar commitment to peace, democracy and human rights.

"Our maritime forces never harass neighbours on the high seas and we have upheld in action the values inscribed in the UN charter," Hayashi wrote in reference to Beijing's vigorous territorial claims, adding that those values were "deeply ingrained" in Japan.

"East Asia is now at a crossroads," Hayashi said. "There are two paths open to China. One is to seek dialogue, and abide by the rule of law. The other is to play the role of Voldemort in the region by letting loose the evil of an arms race and escalation of tensions, although Japan will not escalate the situation from its side.

"The answer seems obvious. Although China has so far refused to enable dialogue between our leaders, I sincerely hope that it will come forward, rather than keep invoking the ghost of militarism of seven decades ago, which no longer exists."

Hayashi's broadside, made in response to a scathing op-ed in the same newspaper by his Chinese counterpart in London, Liu Xiaoming, was published as Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, called for dialogue with the leaders of China and South Korea.

Abe angered Japan's neighbours last month with a visit to a controversial shrine that honours the country's war dead, including several former leaders convicted of war crimes.

To many Chinese and South Koreans, the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo is a potent symbol of Japanese militarism; pilgrimages by politicians are seen as evidence that Japan has yet to atone for its wartime conduct on the Asian mainland.

While there is little prospect of summit talks, Abe said he wanted to explain the reasons behind his visit to the shrine to Chinese leader Xi Jinping and South Korean president Park Geun-hye.

"Seeking dialogue with China and South Korea is extremely important for the peace and security of this region," Abe told reporters on Monday. "I would like to explain my true intentions regarding my visit to Yasukuni. There aren't any direct approaches being made to set up such meetings at present, but the door for dialogue is always open. I would like to hold Japan-China and Japan-South Korea summit meetings.

"I am sure that I will be able to obtain the understanding of nearby nations about my administration's pursuit of peace if I explain it thoroughly."

Abe insisted that he did not visit Yasukuni to honour war criminals or to promote militarism, but to remember the 2.5 million Japanese war dead and to reaffirm his determination that Japan should never again go to war.

His explanation did nothing to calm tempers in Beijing, whose envoy to London accused Abe of "raising the spectre of militarism" and putting the world on a "perilous path".

Liu wrote: "If militarism is like the haunting Voldemort of Japan, the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo is a kind of horcrux, representing the darkest parts of that nation's soul."

In response to Beijing's criticism of Abe's plans to increase defence spending over the next five years, Hayashi wrote: "It is ironic that a country that has increased its own military spending by more than 10% a year for the past 20 years should call a neighbour militarist."

He drew attention to growing unease over China's territorial ambitions in the region, including its claims over the Senkaku islands – known in China as the Diaoyu – which are administered by Japan.

"[China's] attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion has raised concerns not only in Japan, but also among its neighbours throughout the East China Sea and the South China Sea," he said.

Worsening ties between China and Japan, the world's second and third-biggest economies, are causing concern in the US.

At the weekend, the US secretary of defence, Chuck Hagel, urged Abe to reach out to China in the wake of his Yasukuni visit, which Washington had described as "disappointing".

"Secretary Hagel underscored the importance of Japan taking steps to improve relations with its neighbours," the defence department said in a statement.