China imposes export controls on dozens of Japanese entities
China’s Ministry of Commerce imposed export controls on roughly 40 Japanese organizations, splitting them between an outright blacklist and a watch list and restricting their access to dual-use goods with potential military applications. The blacklisted group includes Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies, two government research centers, and firms such as Mitsubishi Precision; the watch list names companies including Mitsui E&S and Terra Drone.
Beijing framed the step as a response to what it called Japan’s drift toward “new militarism,” pointing to Tokyo’s move to lift defense spending toward 2% of GDP and to proposals to amend its pacifist constitution. The friction sharpened after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Japan could intervene militarily to help defend Taiwan, which China claims as its territory.
The controls follow a similar round in February and are calibrated rather than blanket: the ministry said they do not affect “normal China-Japan economic and trade exchanges.” In practice, restricting the flow of dual-use components to defense-linked institutes is a targeted pressure tactic that lets Beijing signal displeasure over Taiwan without disrupting the broader trade relationship that both economies depend on.