AI images of Japan airport's priority lane for Taiwan passport holders mislead online
- Published on January 5, 2026 at 08:34
- 2 min read
- By Anne CHAN, Caroline LIN, AFP Hong Kong
Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing remain high after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed support for Taiwan in November 2025. Social media posts shared fabricated images of signboards at Japan's Narita International Airport that appear to direct travellers from "Taiwan" and "China" to separate lanes for immigration clearance, falsely claiming Taiwanese people enjoyed preferential treatment when entering Japan. Tokyo's immigration services told AFP no such clearance channels exist and the images were generated using Google's AI tools.
"Narita Airport has shown remarkable backbone by implementing the approach of one country, two systems, clearly delineating relations between the two nations. Those Chinese patriots must be furious upon entry," reads part of a post shared on Facebook on December 18, 2025.
The accompanying image shows a large signboard with Chinese and Taiwanese flags, along with labels that read "quick clearance, Taiwan" and "ordinary clearance, China".
A Threads user shared another image featuring the same sign with the caption: "Appreciate countries around the world for the courtesy extended to Taiwan."
Visuals of the same sign also spread on X and Instagram, and similar ones circulated on Threads and Facebook alongside the same claim.
The images circulated after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi angered Beijing with remarks in November 2025 suggesting that Japan could intervene militarily in case of any attack on self-ruled Taiwan (archived link).
Takaichi's comments triggered a sharp diplomatic backlash from China, which has urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan and suspended Japanese seafood imports.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has often disputed the use of the island's flag internationally.
Its blue, red and white banner is often withdrawn from events such as book fairs and beauty pageants in incidents that Taiwanese authorities say are the result of Chinese pressure (archived here and here).
While some social media users questioned whether the images were authentic, others seemed to believe they showed genuine signs at the Narita Airport.
"That's how you treat friends and enemies," reads a comment in traditional Chinese.
Another wrote, "Thank you Japan. Now we don't have to queue up with the Chinese."
But Japan's Immigration Services Agency said the signboard does not exist at Narita Airport.
"There are no priority lanes based on nationality or region," its Press Relations Section told AFP in an email on December 25, 2025.
A reverse image search on Google also found the images were labelled as "Made with Google AI" in its "About this image" feature.
Upon closer inspection, the falsely shared images show visual inconsistencies indicative of AI-generated content, such as the misaligned line on the ceiling, missing beams connecting the glass panes, strange shapes of some travellers' hands, and blurred facial features.
AFP has previously debunked other false claims about China-Japan relations.
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