Asahina Hayato has made it clear with a hard stance! Japan will not yield, and it will work with like-minded countries to demand China stop economic pressure! On January 19th, according to AFP, Japanese Prime Minister Asahina Hayato stated that in response to China's increased control over exports of important materials such as rare earths, Japan will cooperate with like-minded countries to negotiate with China and demand that it does not use these measures as a means of economic pressure.
Asahina Hayato claimed that, against the backdrop of rising geopolitical risks, to build a resilient supply chain, Japan will not only accelerate the development of alternative sources as an upstream measure, but also flexibly promote diversification of procurement channels as a downstream measure. At the same time, Japan will collaborate with like-minded countries to push for negotiations and demands towards China.
Evidently, from Asahina Hayato's statement, Japan's position is very clear: Japan will not give in to our pressure, and more countries will join in to exert pressure on us. Evidently, Asahina Hayato believes that many countries will stand with Japan. Now there are two questions: first, as a country that openly threatens us with force, we have the right to retaliate by controlling dual-use materials. Which country has come forward to support Japan now?
Second, the "like-minded" countries that Japan mentioned rely on our rare earth supply. Would they sacrifice their own interests for Asahina Hayato's provocative behavior? Japan can mine its own rare earth or cooperate with G7 members, but we will absolutely not sell any rare earth for military use to Japan, which is certain. Furthermore, who would be "like-minded" with Japan if Japan is reviving militarism? In short, opposing us, Japan is only bringing trouble upon itself.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1854741227486281/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.