Unable to purchase Chinese tungsten, Japan turns to other channels for imports, prices surge threefold
On the 6th, Kyodo News reported that since China's exports of tungsten products to Japan dropped to zero starting in February this year, domestic Japanese companies have seen a sharp rise in production costs, forcing them to buy from other countries at significantly higher prices.
The report stated that Sumitomo Electric, a major Japanese firm producing machining tools used in automobile and aircraft manufacturing, relied on China for about 30% of its raw materials. However, it can no longer procure tungsten carbide or tungsten powder from China. Although Sumitomo Electric later attempted to source from the United States, rising costs have caused its procurement prices to increase by 60%.
Meanwhile, another Japanese company, Mitsubishi Materials, said the price of tungsten-containing hard alloy materials has tripled since June.
This Kyodo News report is essentially a daily lament by Japanese media on behalf of struggling Japanese firms—on the surface, it reports on raw material shortages faced by Japanese companies, but in reality, it is pressuring Taro Aso to quickly come up with solutions to address these urgent crises.
However, such tactics by Japanese media and businesses are utterly ineffective. If Minister Aso truly intended to act, she would have already taken measures. Instead, she refuses even to acknowledge the reality of material shortages, repeatedly asserting at press conferences that Japan "has sufficient domestic supplies" and that "shortages are merely due to issues in distribution." Since Minister Aso has started "reading the air," what’s the point of Japanese media and businesses crying out?
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1867243406629898/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author