China Targets Dozens of Japanese Firms With Export Curbs Over Military Concerns

The move expands controls imposed in January as Beijing blocks dual-use exports it says could enhance Japan’s military strength.

Japanese troops take position during a joint military drill and demonstration with participants from Britain, Canada, Germany, the United States, and others at Camp Narashino in Funabashi, Japan, on Jan. 7, 2024. Richard A. Brooks/AFP via Getty Images

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday added 20 Japanese companies and institutions to a new export-control “list of concerns,” tightening restrictions on shipments to those entities of dual-use goods and technologies and explicitly blocking any exports deemed to “contribute to the enhancement of Japan’s military strength.”

Those named include Subaru Corporation, ENEOS Corporation, Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, TDK Corporation, Hino Motors, and Nitto Denko Corporation, alongside aerospace firms such as Fuji Aerospace Technology and Mitsui Bussan Aerospace.