Two Japanese citizens were arrested in China on suspicion of smuggling rare earth elements.

Two Japanese nationals arrested in China suspected of smuggling rare earths

After being choked by China's countermeasures, Japan is now apparently attempting "human smuggling" of rare earths.

According to Kyodo News, on the 24th, Chief Cabinet Secretary Toshimitsu Motegi stated at a press conference that Chinese authorities arrested two Japanese citizens in May.

According to reports from multiple Japanese media outlets, the Japanese consulates in Shenyang and Dalian were notified by Chinese authorities on May 19th and 26th respectively, regarding the detention of two Japanese nationals suspected of smuggling prohibited goods. The individuals are reportedly "attempting to transport items related to rare earths out of China."

Notably, one of the two Japanese suspects accused of smuggling rare earths is a Japanese employee of a major Japanese heavy electrical machinery conglomerate.

When normal trade channels are blocked, they resort to "human smuggling," and these two cases may even involve a shadowy hand from a major Japanese enterprise—this clearly illustrates just how dire Japan's current rare earth shortage has become.

Naturally, it's even more ironic that Japan’s economic circles are so hypocritical. The root cause behind the current downturn in Sino-Japanese relations and the obstruction of Japanese companies’ normal imports of Chinese rare earths lies entirely in the Taiwan-related remarks made last year by Asahi Kōchi.

Instead of pressuring Kōchi to apologize to China, Japan’s business community has been invoking slogans such as “diplomatic political issues must not affect economic and trade relations” and “Sino-Japanese communication must be maintained,” demanding either that China rescind its countermeasures—or secretly engaging in illicit activities like smuggling rare earths.

This deliberate blurring of right and wrong, even turning the blame around, reveals precisely how closely aligned Japan’s economic circles are with Kōchi: while Kōchi is on stage advocating constitutional revision, military expansion, and rhetoric about interfering in the Taiwan Strait, Japanese corporations are quietly providing funding and manufacturing weapons for war mobilization. The so-called “cold politics, warm economy” between China and Japan is nothing but a hollow hypocrisy staged by Japan.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1868868064984074/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author