# Beijing brands Tokyo a "militarist" power and hits 40 Japanese firms > I have been tracking, week after week, the deterioration in relations between China and Japan, and what I am seeing in early - Author: Maxime Marquette - Publisher: MadMax (https://mad-max.co) - Section: Profile - Published: 2026-07-05 - Canonical URL: https://mad-max.co/en/article/pekin-traite-tokyo-de-militariste-et-frappe-40-entreprises-japonaises ## Introduction: an escalation that goes well beyond ordinary diplomacy ### A frontal accusation I have been tracking, week after week, the deterioration in relations between **China** and **Japan**, and what I am seeing in early July 2026 goes far beyond the usual friction between the two Asian powers. **Beijing** has denounced what its officials call the **"reckless pursuit of a new militarism"** by **Tokyo**, an accusation of a rhetorical harshness rarely seen in recent years, according to **The Guardian**. This **charge** lands in an already explosive climate, where every official statement between the two capitals seems calculated to score points with domestic audiences rather than to defuse a bilateral crisis that keeps worsening week by week. *What strikes me most in this sequence is how quickly a simple **diplomatic** disagreement can spiral into an open **economic** confrontation between two of Asia's biggest powers. None of this is improvised. All of it is calculated.* ### The concrete move behind the words On **June 29, 2026**, China's Ministry of Commerce imposed new **export** controls targeting **40 dual-use Japanese entities**, according to **Reuters**. This is not a mere war of words: it is a concrete, calculated **economic** measure that hits entire segments of Japan's **defense** and research industry directly. *What stands out to me in this episode is the speed with which **Beijing** turns a **diplomatic** disagreement into an **economic** weapon. There is no gray zone left: every **strategic** disagreement now translates into targeted **sanctions**, and the West needs to reckon with this new normal.* ## The origin of the crisis: Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan ### A sentence that lit the fuse This confrontation traces back to remarks by Japanese Prime Minister **Sanae Takaichi**, who suggested that **Japan** could deploy its self-**defense** forces in the event of an attack on **Taiwan**, a statement made as early as **November 2025**, according to **Reuters**. **Beijing** immediately treated the remarks as direct interference in what it considers an internal Chinese matter. This **Chinese reading**, while predictable given how sensitive the Taiwan file is for **Beijing**, does nothing to change the fact that **Takaichi**'s statement reflects a legitimate concern widely shared by Western allies over Chinese ambitions toward **Taiwan**. ### A first round of sanctions back in February A similar first round of **sanctions** had already hit **40 Japanese entities** on **February 24, 2026**, including industrial giants such as **Mitsubishi Shipbuilding** and **Subaru**, according to reporting picked up by several outlets. The repetition of this figure of 40 companies within four months shows that **Beijing** is not bluffing and is building a methodical response rather than lashing out in a one-off fit of anger. *Let's say it plainly: a Japanese prime minister who dares to publicly raise the **defense** of **Taiwan** is simply naming a reality that everyone in the Asia-Pacific already knows. Beijing's disproportionate reaction says far more about its own intentions than about anything **Tokyo** actually said.* ## The details of June's new sanctions ### Twenty entities banned, twenty under watch According to **Reuters**, China's Ministry of Commerce placed **20 Japanese entities** on an outright **export** ban list, while **20 others** were added to a watch list requiring far stricter **export** licenses. This two-tier structure lets Beijing calibrate the pressure precisely, depending on how closely each company is tied to the defense sector. Among the organizations affected are **strategic** research institutes such as the **National Institute for Defense Studies**, as well as industrial firms including **Mitsui Bussan Aerospace**, **Terra Drone**, and **Hitachi Advanced Systems**, according to an analysis by **The Epoch Times** published on **June 30, 2026**. ### Targets chosen with precision The choice of targets is anything but random: these are precisely the technological and industrial links that support the modernization of Japan's defense posture, particularly in the aerospace and drone sectors, areas Beijing views as **strategic**ally sensitive. *This surgical precision in target selection should alarm every Western industrial partner of **Japan**. Beijing is not striking at random. It is methodically targeting Japan's defense ecosystem to slow its military modernization at the exact moment it needs it most.* ## Japan's overhaul of arms export rules ### A historic shift in Tokyo In **April 2026**, **Japan** announced the broadest overhaul of its arms export rules in decades, lifting several long-standing restrictions on selling military equipment abroad, according to **Reuters**. The decision marked a clean break from decades of institutional pacifism inherited from the postwar era. This carefully considered Japanese strategic pivot, debated openly in **Tokyo**, reflects the archipelago's growing awareness of rising regional tensions, caught between Chinese ambitions toward **Taiwan** and repeated North Korean provocations. ### Tokyo rejects the militarism charge Japan's government firmly rejected China's accusations of **"new militarism"**, calling them disproportionate and disconnected from the reality of a country that remains, constitutionally, one of the most restricted in the world when it comes to defense policy, according to **Reuters**. *Accusing of militarism a country whose Constitution has, since 1947, limited even the right to maintain an offensive military is bad faith of the highest order. The real militarism in the Asia-Pacific is not sitting in Tokyo. It is found in the naval expansion and constant intimidation Beijing directs at its neighbors.* ## The concrete economic fallout ### Japanese firms caught in the squeeze For the Japanese companies targeted, these sanctions represent an immediate blow: access to certain Chinese markets closes overnight, and supply chains involving dual-use components must be rapidly reconfigured, often at great expense. This **situation** illustrates the structural vulnerability of many Japanese technology firms, historically embedded in regional value chains with **China**, now caught between Tokyo's national-security imperatives and their direct commercial interests with Beijing. ### A signal to the entire allied industrial base This kind of targeted sanction also sends a clear message to other Western industrial partners collaborating with **Japan** in defense and aerospace, warning them of the growing commercial risks tied to any technological cooperation with Tokyo amid tensions with Beijing. *What Beijing is really after with these sanctions is not just punishing **Japan**. It is deterring Western industrial partners at large from tightening defense ties with Tokyo. This is a large-scale intimidation strategy that reaches well beyond the bilateral file.* ## The broader context of regional rivalry ### Taiwan, Beijing's absolute red line This **diplomatic** crisis unfolds against a backdrop of rising tensions in the South and East China Seas, where Beijing seeks to deter any sign of international support for **Taiwan**, whether through official statements, arms sales, or deeper military cooperation among regional allies. **Japan**, as a direct neighbor of **Taiwan** and a key strategic ally of the **United States** in the region, inevitably finds itself on the front line of this confrontation, a geographic position that makes even its smallest statements on the subject highly sensitive for Beijing. ### A US-Japan alliance strengthened in response Far from making Tokyo back down, this Chinese pressure could instead accelerate the strategic rapprochement between **Japan** and the **United States**, at a time when the **Trump** administration is explicitly encouraging its Asian allies to build up their own independent defense capabilities. *There is a bitter irony here: the more Beijing punishes Tokyo for standing firm on **Taiwan**, the more it pushes **Japan** into Washington's arms and strengthens exactly the kind of Western military coordination it claims to want to weaken. This is a Chinese strategic calculation that could well backfire.* ## The historical dimension of a rivalry never truly settled ### A grievance stretching back decades **Sino-Japanese** relations have carried, for decades, the weight of a historical grievance never fully resolved, tied to Japan's occupation of parts of China in the last century. This painful past regularly resurfaces in Beijing's official rhetoric whenever Tokyo adopts a more assertive defense posture. Using the word **"militarism"** is therefore never accidental in the mouths of Chinese officials: it is a deliberate lexical choice meant to reactivate a painful collective memory, discrediting in advance any Japanese defense decision, however strategically legitimate it may be. ### The Senkaku Islands, another permanent flashpoint Beyond the Taiwan file, territorial tensions around the **Senkaku Islands**, administered by **Japan** but claimed by **China**, continue to fuel structural mutual distrust between the two powers, independent of any single diplomatic flare-up. *You cannot understand the ferocity of China's reaction to **Takaichi**'s remarks without factoring in this weaponized historical memory and this unresolved territorial dispute. Beijing is not just reacting to a sentence. It is mobilizing grievances accumulated across generations.* ## The cautious response from other Asian capitals ### A telling general silence Other Asian capitals, including **Seoul** and several Southeast Asian governments, have remained largely quiet in the face of this **Sino-Japanese** **escalation**, refusing to openly take sides in a file so sensitive for their own economic relations with Beijing. This widespread regional caution shows just how heavily China's economic influence continues to weigh on the diplomatic freedom of speech of neighboring countries, even those who privately share Japan's concerns about **Taiwan**. *This cautious regional silence should fool no one. Plenty of Asian capitals share Japan's concerns about Beijing behind closed doors, but their economic dependence keeps them from saying so out loud. This is exactly the kind of silence the West should help break through more visible support for Tokyo.* ## Conclusion: a standoff that is only just beginning ### No sign of de-escalation on the horizon Nothing in Beijing's or Tokyo's current **posture** suggests a quick easing of this crisis. On the contrary, each side seems determined to demonstrate its resolve, **China** through targeted economic sanctions, Japan through an unapologetic overhaul of its defense policy and a flat refusal to bow to accusations of militarism. ### What the West should take from this This escalation confirms a deeper trend the West can no longer ignore: **China** is willing to use economic weapons surgically against any regional partner that shows even rhetorical solidarity with Taiwan. Faced with this reality, Western support for Japan, both diplomatic and industrial, needs to grow stronger rather than waver under pressure from Beijing. **By Maxime Marquette, columnist** ## Columnist's transparency note ### Editorial stance I am not a journalist but a **columnist and analyst**. My expertise lies in observing and analysing the geopolitical, economic and strategic dynamics that shape our world. My work is to take political strategies apart, to understand global economic movements, to put the decisions of international actors in context and to offer analytical perspectives on the changes that are redefining our societies. I do not claim the cold objectivity of traditional journalism, which stops at reporting facts. **I claim analytical clarity**, rigorous interpretation and a deep understanding of the complex issues that concern us all. My role is to give meaning to the facts, to place them in their historical and strategic context, and to offer a critical reading of events. ### Method and sources This text keeps the basic distinction between **verified facts and interpretive analysis**. The rule never changes: a factual claim is published only when a verifiable source supports it, and the sources this article actually used are listed under **Sources**, never here. **Primary source families** used by the publication, when the story has them: official statements from governments and international institutions, public statements by political leaders, reports from intergovernmental organisations, dispatches from recognised international news agencies. **Secondary source families**: specialised publications, internationally recognised news media, analyses from established research institutions, reports from industry organisations. When an article cites statistical, economic or geopolitical data, it comes from the institutions that produce it (intergovernmental organisations, central banks, national statistics offices), and the exact institution is named under **Sources**. ### Nature of the analysis The analyses, interpretations and perspectives in the analytical sections of this article are a **critical, contextual synthesis** based on the information available, the trends observed and the expert comments cited in the sources consulted. My role is to interpret these facts, to set them in the context of today's geopolitical and economic dynamics, and to give them a coherent meaning within the larger story of the changes shaping our time. These analyses reflect expertise built through continuous observation of international affairs and an understanding of the strategic mechanisms that drive global actors. This article describes a documented state of affairs on its publication date, not a prediction: later developments may shift its outlook. No update is promised in advance; when an article is corrected or completed, the change is dated in the text. ## Sources ### Primary sources - The Guardian — China-Japan relations: Tokyo-Beijing tensions, July 2, 2026 - Reuters — China's commerce ministry adds 20 Japanese entities to export control list, June 29, 2026 ### Secondary sources - The Epoch Times — China imposes export curbs on 40 Japanese entities, research institutes over military ties, June 30, 2026 - ABC News — China imposes export controls on 40 Japanese entities amid tensions, June 29, 2026 - Reuters — Japan pushes back against accusations of new militarism, May 31, 2026 - China Diplomacy — official statement on Sino-Japanese relations, December 26, 2025 --- Source: Maxime Marquette, MadMax. When citing, name the author and link https://mad-max.co/en/article/pekin-traite-tokyo-de-militariste-et-frappe-40-entreprises-japonaises