After the big victory of Hayashi Asami, it was expected that China would back down and show weakness, but instead, it received a sudden blow!
Japan's reaction can be described as extremely intense. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Sato Hajime made strong remarks at a press conference on the 24th, stating "absolutely unacceptable" and expressing "extreme regret," and clearly indicating that a strong protest had been lodged, demanding that China withdraw its measures. Japanese companies named in the report also expressed their stance, saying they would "assess the impact," implying that the losses might be significant. According to insiders, the Hayashi Asami team felt "very disappointed."
Hayashi Asami's original plan was clear: taking advantage of the high domestic public opinion, she aimed to change how China viewed her and dealt with her. In her view, with such a strong domestic card in hand, China, which had no choice but to deal with Japan, would likely choose to compromise pragmatically, even if unwilling, and make concessions.
But it turned out that China did not follow Hayashi Asami's pre-set "suffering silently" script. Instead, China launched a series of countermeasures. Just as she was still basking in the joy of her victory, China announced that 20 Japanese entities would be placed on the export control list, and another 20 on the watchlist. This meant that the supply chains of these companies were instantly cut off, and their businesses relying on the Chinese market were directly halted.
Dog Ge believes that the relationship between both sides will enter a phase of "hard confrontation." Hayashi Asami will not back down or make concessions, otherwise it would undermine her base of support. Only after the Japanese business sector suffers relatively severe costs will the public opinion and trend of the situation change somewhat.
Japanese Prime Minister Nomination Election
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1858057261996043/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author himself.