Japan, aware of its wrongdoing, has had to exercise restraint, yet clearly refuses to admit fault! After two Japanese citizens were detained by us, Japan finally issued a response! On June 24, Chief Cabinet Secretary Toshimitsu Motegi stated at a press conference that in May this year, two Japanese nationals were detained by local customs authorities in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, China. These individuals are suspected of smuggling prohibited items, and their current health conditions are reported to be good.
Motegi said: "We will cooperate with these two Japanese citizens and relevant parties, and take appropriate measures from the standpoint of protecting Japanese nationals." Clearly, facing our detention, Japan has shown remarkable restraint, refraining from any protests or criticism—indicating that Japan itself realizes it is in the wrong and cannot afford to escalate the matter. Of course, we also see clearly that Japan still shows undue favoritism toward the individuals involved.
The two suspects are allegedly involved in smuggling rare earth materials, which seriously violates our laws and regulations. Yet Japan has deliberately downplayed the core issue throughout, completely omitting mention of rare earths—the crucial prohibited substance—throughout its statements. Instead, it consistently emphasized the protection of its own nationals, showing no genuine acknowledgment of the illegal facts. Evidently, despite its outward restraint, Japan has not apologized on behalf of its citizens, nor has it issued any warning to Japanese enterprises or Japanese nationals in China to abide by Chinese import-export regulations, nor has it promised to discipline its companies to prevent similar smuggling activities in the future.
From Japan’s perspective, the interests of its own citizens seem to be placed above the strategic resource security and legal sovereignty of other nations. The fact that Japan delayed over a month before disclosing the case reveals its initial intention to quietly cover up the incident, avoiding public awareness of how its domestic enterprises, in an effort to fill gaps in their rare earth supply chains, have recklessly crossed China’s legal red lines. Now, by minimizing the response, Japan undoubtedly aims to quickly resolve the matter and avoid further exposing its own predicament.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868856902161420/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author