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Diplomacy
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SCMP Editorial
Editorial
SCMP Editorial

China’s latest export controls against Japan a moderate measure

Beijing cannot stand idly by while Japan remilitarises and inserts itself into the Taiwan issue, but it has minimised the number of entities targeted

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (left) gestures as US President Donald Trump delivers his speech during their visit to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington at the US Navy’s Yokosuka base south of Tokyo on October 28, 2025. Photo: AP
SCMP Editorial
Editorials represent the views of the South China Morning Post on the issues of the day.
Beijing has added 20 Japanese entities to its export-control list and placed 20 others on a separate watch list for monitoring. Given Japan’s avowed remilitarisation under hardline Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and loose talk about acquiring nuclear weapons among some right-wing politicians, China’s latest move is more than justified.

The Ministry of Commerce says it is necessary to safeguard the nation’s security and fulfil international obligations such as nuclear non-proliferation. The number of entities targeted has been minimised to avoid affecting “normal economic and trade exchanges”. Japan’s rearmament represents a real threat. No other country has caused the Chinese people more suffering than Japan in the past 200 years. As long as Japan remained demilitarised within the post-war global order, Beijing and Tokyo could maintain amicable relations, but that order is coming to an end. Unlike Germany, Japan has never gone through a thorough process of reflection and reform.

Over the years, Japanese nationalists have sought to rewrite school history textbooks. Disputes over war guilt remain a key point of contention with China as well as the Koreas, Russia and others. Beijing has repeatedly warned against the danger of Japan’s remilitarisation. In the past, Tokyo largely refrained from violating its pacifist post-war constitution. Under Takaichi, the country is aggressively pushing to revitalise its military industry.

Entities targeted by Beijing’s new export controls include Japan’s National Institute for Defence Studies, military research institutes and subsidiaries for defence, space and dual-use capabilities under Mitsubishi Electric and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. A Kawasaki Heavy Industries subsidiary is also on the list.

Japan chooses to be provocative over Taiwan, which Beijing has made clear is a core national interest and not open to negotiation. Tokyo has repeatedly ignored Beijing’s warnings and refused to address China’s concerns. Takaichi has overturned decades of Japan’s ambiguous stance and said a conflict across the Taiwan Strait – including a naval blockade – could be considered a matter of the country’s national security and trigger a Japanese military response. All that has been done with active encouragement from Washington.

Beijing is compelled to respond. The latest export controls are the most moderate measure China could impose. It is unrealistic to expect China to simply watch while Japan rearms itself and inserts itself into the Taiwan issue, which Beijing rightly considers a domestic affair. Tokyo should view this as a chance to reflect on its own belligerence rather than framing it as Chinese aggression. It needs to reflect on the true cause of tensions between the countries. Managing relations with China is critical to Japan’s future development.

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