Japanese Media's Concern: Where is Japan's Way Out?

Japanese media "TBS News" published an article on February 22: From tourists to rare earths, how can they get rid of their dependence on China? Where is the way?

As the Chinese Lunar New Year, the most important festival in China, approaches, Japanese tourist attractions have seen a different "phenomenon". At the same time, Japan has begun to feel the impact of the rare earth supply it feared most. The Japanese media called it: "a disastrous situation."

The Japanese tourist attractions during the Chinese "Spring Festival" holiday have completely changed their scenery... "Fuji Mountain Resort Hotel" is popular for its rooms that overlook Mount Fuji. In 2025, the lobby was full of Chinese tourists, but in 2026, it was very quiet. The operations manager of the hotel group, Isaki Hajime, said: "This is a disastrous situation, and the loss will reach tens of millions of yen." "All group tour bookings have been canceled," "Now I see nothing but darkness, and I am powerless."

Airports have no Chinese group tourists, and only individual Chinese tourists are seen in Tokyo's Asakusa, with the number of tourists so low that it is surprising. In fact, according to data released on the 18th, the number of Chinese tourists in January decreased by 60% compared to last year.

On the other hand, other Asian countries experienced an unexpected "demand boom" this Spring Festival. Because "it is inconvenient to go to Japan," a large number of Chinese tourists have entered Thailand and South Korea...

During the Spring Festival, the number of Chinese tourists in Thailand has increased sharply. The Thai government is taking full advantage of this business opportunity and holding events to attract Chinese tourists. On the other hand, large cruise ships arrived in South Korea. It is expected that the number of Chinese tourists visiting South Korea during this Spring Festival will increase by more than 40%.

For Chinese people, shopping with "Alipay" in South Korea has become very convenient. "Alipay" has been introduced into the tourist attractions in Seoul to attract Chinese tourists.

What shocked the world during the Spring Festival was China's demonstration of Kung Fu robots, which represents high-level technology controlled by artificial intelligence. In addition to artificial intelligence, China also has various rare earth resources that support communication systems and other cutting-edge technologies.

More than 70% of Japan's rare earth imports come from China. At the same time, China announced in January that it would restrict exports of dual-use items to Japan. Although Prime Minister Takahashi said: "Through other channels, we will widely expand the upstream supply chain and propose fiscal incentive policies."

However, can the economy actually "get rid of dependence on China"? What is the actual impact on Japanese companies now?

A journalist visited a factory that imports and processes Chinese rare earths. The person in charge, Sugiura Mizuki, introduced: "We process a rare earth called neodymium, used to make strong magnets. It is essential for various advanced equipment, including smartphones, electric vehicle motors, and medical equipment. But now, the import volume from China is declining sharply."

President of Himeji Electronics, Aojima Shigeharu, said: "The current delivery volume is only one-third of the actual demand. Since Takahashi's statement in November last year, the delivery volume has dropped significantly." "We have urgently purchased from other countries, but the cost has doubled, and the supply volume is unstable. The production of magnets cannot keep up with the order demand." "The current order volume has been scheduled until next year, but we can't cope anymore."

The journalist asked Aojima, "What kind of relationship do you hope Japan and China have?" Aojima said: "If we cannot smoothly import from China, Japan's economy and manufacturing industry will not survive."

Although Takahashi Hayato said: "We will rebuild a supply chain that does not depend on specific countries, strengthen cooperation with like-minded countries, and get rid of dependence."

But how to get rid of dependence on a "specific country," where is Japan's way out?

Original: toutiao.com/article/1857812839107849/

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