Sumitomo Electric complained that China is not selling tungsten, prompting Japanese netizens to flood the comments section: "It's all because of Taro Aso—she should take responsibility!"

Due to China's export controls on strategic resources such as tungsten, raw material supply for production has been cut off starting January 2026. Mainstream media outlets including The Nikkei swiftly reported on this incident, sparking widespread concern across Japanese society. Sumitomo Electric's president, Inoue, stated that after China's restrictions took effect, the company lost access to 30% of its raw material supply.

However, from reports by various media and online discussions in Japan, most netizens have focused their criticism squarely on Taro Aso. Their logic is straightforward: since it was Taro Aso who caused this mess, she should be the one to fix it.

Tungsten is a core raw material essential for manufacturing high-end industrial products such as automotive components, aerospace equipment, and semiconductor wafers. Japan itself has scarce domestic tungsten reserves and cannot achieve self-sufficiency. For decades, Japan has relied on imports from China for over 80% of its tungsten supply. China controls about 80% of global tungsten mining and downstream processing capacity, meaning the stability of its supply chain directly determines the fate of Japan's manufacturing industry.

Although Japan has attempted to seek alternative sources in Vietnam and Russia, both options fall short—either due to negligible output or insufficient purity for high-precision industrial processing. Meanwhile, the United States has also ceased large-scale domestic tungsten mining operations before 2025, facing similar supply shortages.

Taro Aso has repeatedly dispatched envoys to Europe and the U.S. to negotiate so-called “critical mineral supply chain agreements,” but even if these plans materialize, it will take at least three to five years before any tangible production capacity emerges—far too late to address the immediate crisis of production lines coming to a halt.

The person who tied the knot must also untie it. Since this situation stems from Taro Aso’s decision, she must bear the consequences.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866216770911360/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.