China restricts exports to 40 Japanese entities with ties to military

BANGKOK (AP) - China restricted Tuesday exports to 40 Japanese entities it says are contributing to Japan's "remilitarization," in the latest escalation of tensions with Tokyo.

Beijing has shown continued displeasure with Tokyo since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in November implied Japan could intervene if China used military force against Taiwan, an island democracy China claims as its own.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry put 20 Japanese companies on an export control list and 20 others on a separate watchlist.

Companies on the export control list will not be able to import from China dual-use goods, which can be used for civilian and military purposes. They include multiple business subsidiaries of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries involved in shipbuilding and the production of aircraft engines and maritime machinery, as well as some of Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Fujitsu, among others.

Foreign organizations or individuals are also banned from providing dual-use items originating in China to the 20 entities, the ministry said.

"All ongoing related activities must cease immediately," its statement read.

The separate watchlist has 20 Japanese companies for which Chinese exporters are required to submit individual export license applications, along with risk assessment reports and written pledges that the dual-use items will not be used by Japan's military. It includes Subaru Corporation, Mitsubishi Materials Corporation and the Institute of Science Tokyo, among others.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said the measures, aiming to curb Japan's remilitarization and nuclear ambitions, "are entirely legitimate, reasonable, and legal."

The restrictions "are only aimed at a small number of Japanese entities, and the relevant measures only target dual-use items," it added. "They will not affect normal economic and trade exchanges between China and Japan, and honest and law-abiding Japanese entities have absolutely nothing to worry about."

Tokyo issued a formal protest of the measures to China's Deputy Chief of Mission to Japan Shi Yong, according to a statement by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The restrictions, solely targeting Japan, largely differ from international practices and are "absolutely unacceptable," said Masaaki Kanai, head of the ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau.

"The measures announced today will never be tolerated. This is deplorable indeed. We strongly protest to China and urge them to lift them (the controls)," Kei Sato, Japan's deputy chief Cabinet secretary, said during a routine briefing on Tuesday.

Sato said the contents of China's measures would "need to be examined."

"We will take actions accordingly," he added.

Some aspects are unclear, including whether they include rare earths trading, he added.

Most affected companies contacted by The Associated Press who responded said they had no immediate comment.

Representatives of industrial equipment supplier Yashima Denki Co. and chemical manufacturer NOF Corp, both on the watchlist, said they believed their companies would be hardly affected by the measures as they had limited trade with China.

Beijing has repeatedly criticized Tokyo over Takaichi's November comments as well as what it describes as Japan's ambitions to "remilitarize."

China regards Taiwan as its own breakaway province, to be annexed by force if necessary, and bristles at any comments by foreign governments showing support for Taiwan's sovereignty.

Takaichi's party secured a landslide victory in parliamentary elections earlier this month, which will allow her to double down on a significant conservative shift in Japan's security, immigration and other policies.