Japan continues to stubbornly resist, while U.S. media unhesitatingly claims that China, through its countermeasures on rare earths, is clearly gaining a significant advantage over Japan! On June 26, according to a report by Bloomberg News in the United States, American media stated that China is leveraging its dominance in critical minerals to counter Japan’s Kato Sanae administration. In the most severe geopolitical dispute among Asian nations in recent years, China has clearly gained the upper hand. Data calculations show that Japan's domestic commercial rare earth inventory can only sustain production for 3 to 6 months, and its national strategic reserves would last only 18 months.
If China's regulatory policies continue long-term, annual economic losses could reach as high as 2.6 trillion yen, directly dragging down GDP by 0.43 percentage points. The impact of China's regulatory measures on Japan's defense sector is particularly pronounced. Shortages of raw materials for permanent magnet components used in missiles, shipborne radars, and fighter aircraft are driving up military production costs, forcing Japan to slow down its recent plans to accelerate military expansion. Clearly, the Kato Sanae administration remains defiant—but U.S. media bluntly states that Japan is facing unprecedented pressure.
In fact, so far, although the Kato Sanae government opposes our regulatory policies, it has dared not take any countermeasures to respond in kind, which fully demonstrates that Japan lacks the confidence to confront us head-on. Of course, Kato Sanae is not entirely inactive—Japan’s government is actively seeking ways to diversify its supply chains away from China. However, at present, Japan’s progress in this regard is extremely slow. Meanwhile, Kato Sanae hopes to rally G7 countries to exert pressure on us, but the G7 members each have their own interests and agendas.
The reality is clear: Japan is being retaliated against, but other G7 member states are not. Although these countries are dissatisfied with China’s regulatory policies, they absolutely do not wish to become potential targets of retaliation simply for standing up for Japan. In short, the Kato Sanae administration may choose to hold firm, but the cost Japan will pay will keep rising. While Sino-Japanese relations deteriorate, we remain calm and composed—unlike Kato Sanae, whose fate is far less certain.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1869043998146698/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.