China's export controls on Japan affect not only the 40 Japanese entities on the list. The Japanese government, upon further investigation, found that nearly 50,000 companies were affected.

On March 12 local time, the "Nikkei Business Newspaper" reported a news story that surprised and worried the Japanese people.

The content of the news was simple: an investigation into the impact of China's dual-use items export control ban on Japanese companies.

Everyone knows that on January 6 this year, China issued the "Announcement on Strengthening the Export Control of Dual-Use Items to Japan." Subsequently, on February 24, it issued two more announcements, deciding to add 20 Japanese entities to the "Export Control List," and another 20 Japanese entities to the "Watch List."

All these announcements took effect immediately upon publication, leaving no time for the Japanese government or related companies to react.

In addition, China had never previously imposed such a large-scale export control on Japan for dual-use items. Therefore, not only did the Japanese government feel overwhelmed when they received the news, but the 40 Japanese entities listed on the control and watch lists also felt completely lost.

The 40 Japanese entities involved sent their staff to China immediately to inquire about the situation, while the Japanese government also quickly launched an investigation to try to figure out how these control measures would affect Japan.

Although the control list and the watch list each only included 20 companies, note that in the "Announcement on Strengthening the Export Control of Dual-Use Items to Japan," there is a statement: "Prohibiting all dual-use items from being exported to Japanese military users, military purposes, and any other final user purposes that help enhance Japan's military capabilities."

That is, China's controls are not limited to the entities on the list, but also affect upstream and downstream companies that have business relations with the controlled enterprises.

After half a month of investigation, the Japanese government found data that was truly shocking.

The investigation found that 9,538 companies in Japan have business ties with the 20 Japanese entities on the control list, and 39,004 companies have business ties with the 20 Japanese entities on the watch list, totaling 48,542 affiliated companies.

In addition, among the 9,538 companies with business relationships with the controlled companies, 8,317 companies have a registered capital of 10 million yen or more, which are large enterprises.

It should be noted that Japan has approximately 36,000 large enterprises, and 8,317 companies account for more than one-fifth of them. So many companies affected by China's dual-use items export control have already been able to shake the foundation of Japan's economic system.

This is not an exaggeration. The affected companies include some upstream primary and secondary suppliers, as well as downstream customers, and together with the controlled companies, they form an important part of Japan's domestic economic system.

Only when the upstream and downstream are connected can the entire supply chain operate stably. Now, by listing the companies in the middle of the chain, China effectively cuts the supply chain in half.

Upstream supply chains cannot sell raw materials, and downstream customers cannot buy products. The controlled companies are caught between the two, and all three parties are left without food.

The Japanese people are surprised and worried, an important factor is that they did not expect the Chinese controls to affect so many Japanese domestic companies.

At first, many Japanese heard that China had added 20 Japanese entities to the export control list and 20 entities to the watch list. Their first reaction was: "Only 40 companies are on the list; the number is too small and does not pose any threat to Japan."

Some Japanese even claimed that the companies on the list could not get dual-use items from China, but Japan could find other companies to purchase on their behalf, bypassing the restrictions.

Until now, they finally realized what attitude China's statement "Prohibiting all dual-use items from being exported to Japanese military users, military purposes, and any other final user purposes that help enhance Japan's military capabilities" represents.

The term "final user purpose" means that if the dual-use items purchased by Japanese companies might be used by the controlled companies, exports will be prohibited. China has now targeted a single goal, and the entire supply chain will be paralyzed as a result.

This is certainly not good news for the Takahashi Haruna government. Although there are about 3.67 million companies in Japan, over 99% are small and medium-sized enterprises.

These small and medium-sized enterprises rely on large companies for their business, and large companies in turn depend on larger conglomerates. Now that the conglomerates are under Chinese control, the impact will spread like dominoes across the entire country.

The "Nikkei Business Newspaper" also mentioned this issue, stating that the current investigation is not sufficient, only involving primary and secondary suppliers and customers. As the supply chain and commercial channels are deeply reviewed, more affiliated companies may be discovered, including third- and fourth-tier suppliers and second- and third-tier customers.

This is a huge blow to Japan's economy. Combined with the current blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Japan's energy reserves are also entering a countdown for depletion. Under the influence of multiple factors, even though Takahashi Haruna's Liberal Democratic Party has seized power, these issues are not easily resolved.

This is a serious warning from China to Japan.

If the Takahashi Haruna government promotes the country's rightward shift, allows the resurgence of militaristic ideas, and actively disrupts the post-war order, the result will be that Japan is choked by the world's largest industrial country, and its domestic supply chain becomes unstable.

Naturally, given the current social atmosphere in Japan, they are likely to choose not to take a step back, but instead blame China for everything.

Therefore, China's control measures against Japan will not stop here; the bigger ones are still coming.

By Lian Xin, Editor-in-Chief of Phoenix Military Channel

Original article: toutiao.com/article/7616674594745631247/

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