China has expanded export controls against 40 Japanese companies and institutions, adding 20 entities to its export control list and placing another 20 under heightened scrutiny in a move targeting Japan's defence and industrial sectors.
The Ministry of Commerce added 20 entities to the export control list on Monday, including Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies and research centres for ground, naval and air systems. Several units of Mitsubishi Electric and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries were also targeted.
Domestic exporters, as well as overseas organisations and individuals, are prohibited from transferring Chinese-origin dual-use items to the named entities, and any ongoing activities must cease immediately.
Separately, China placed another 20 entities on a watch list, including drone maker Terra Drone Corporation, nuclear fuel processors and multiple units of OKI Electric Industry, requiring enhanced scrutiny of any exports involving those companies.
The companies targeted are primarily drawn from Japan's defence and industrial sectors. Alongside Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the list includes units of Komatsu, the heavy machinery manufacturer, and Fujitsu, one of Japan's leading technology companies.
The inclusion of Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies, a government research body that advises on military policy, signals that Beijing is targeting not only private sector suppliers but also the institutional heart of Japan's defence planning.
A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said the measures were "completely justified, reasonable and lawful" and were aimed at "resolutely curbing Japan's reckless moves toward neo-militarism".
The spokesperson said Japan had not changed course but had instead gone further down the wrong path by accelerating its remilitarisation, deploying offensive weapons and launching offensive missiles beyond its borders.
The latest restrictions follow an earlier round in February, when China added 20 entities, including subsidiaries of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, IHI Corp and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, to its export control list. Another 20 firms, including Subaru Corp and TDK Corp, were placed on the watch list.
Monday's additions are, according to Beijing, a consequence of Japan failing to change course after that first warning. China's spokesperson said Japan had shown no remorse since the February listings and had instead accelerated its push towards what Beijing characterises as neo-militarism.
Beijing sought to reassure businesses by stressing that Monday's measures target only a limited number of Japanese entities, apply solely to dual-use items and will not affect normal economic and trade exchanges between China and Japan.
"Honest and law-abiding Japanese entities have absolutely nothing to worry about," the spokesperson said.
The language appears intended to limit the diplomatic fallout and reassure the wider business community that the move is a targeted political signal rather than the start of a broader economic confrontation.
Whether Japan interprets it that way remains to be seen. Tokyo and Beijing continue to manage a relationship shaped by unresolved historical tensions, territorial disputes and sharply differing views on regional security.
Japan's growing military capabilities and its increasingly close alliance with the U.S. are viewed in Beijing as a direct threat. China's use of export controls to push back against that trajectory has become an increasingly common feature of the relationship, with the list of targeted entities growing longer with each round of restrictions.
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