China’s Export Ban: Japan-Bashing is Backfiring

Editorial

16:14 JST, February 26, 2026

The more China tries to intimidate Japan, the more wariness toward China spreads in Japan, bolstering support for the push by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration to strengthen defense capabilities. It is clear that China’s pressure on Japan is having the opposite effect to that intended.

The Chinese government has banned exports of dual-use products to 20 Japanese companies and organizations. A wide range of items, including rare earths, are believed to be covered.

Following Takaichi’s remark in the Diet in November 2025 regarding a potential Taiwan contingency, China had continued economic pressure by urging its citizens to refrain from visiting Japan. This time, it has further intensified its countermeasures.

The targets are primarily defense and aerospace-related companies. Regarding the export restrictions, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce released a statement, saying that the purpose is to curb Japan’s rearmament and nuclear ambitions.

This is utterly off the mark. While it appears aimed at restraining the Takaichi administration’s moves, including revision of three security documents encompassing increased defense spending, aren’t China’s own actions the very thing prompting such a response?

China has repeatedly conducted large-scale military exercises around Taiwan. In December 2025, Chinese military aircraft directed radar at Self-Defense Forces aircraft. In the face of China’s intimidation, public opinion is growing stronger in Japan that the country should strengthen its defense capabilities.

It is believed that the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in the recent House of Representatives election is partly attributed to Takaichi’s stance of refusing to withdraw her Diet remarks as demanded by China, which was well received. China’s pressure on the Takaichi administration has backfired.

The Chinese administration of President Xi Jinping has recently intensified its international propaganda campaign, using the term “neo-militarism” to position Japan as a challenger to the postwar international order.

On the other hand, while the Xi administration portrays itself as a champion of the free trade system, it uses its economy as a weapon to intimidate those who China thinks defy it. China cannot escape the criticism that it is the one undermining the postwar order.

Economic coercion also violates the spirit of the World Trade Organization, which China considers important. It is only natural that the Japanese government lodged a strong protest with China over the latest measures and demanded their withdrawal.

Japanese companies have secured stocks of rare earth products, drawing on past experiences where China exerted pressure on Japan through measures such as rare earth export bans. The impact of the latest measures is expected to be limited in the short term.

However, China’s coercive tactics are likely to persist for the foreseeable future. Japan must urgently diversify its supply chains by collaborating with like-minded nations such as other members of the Group of Seven and Australia. It is also essential to widely communicate Japan’s position to the international community and counter China’s propaganda campaign.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 26, 2026)