Japan should counter China's threats with US support, says lawmaker

By Yoshiaki Nohara

 

Japan should leverage its alliance with the US to counter China’s threats rather than seeking quick compromises alone that will lead to long-term losses, according to an outspoken Japanese lawmaker whose entry into China has been banned. 

If Beijing signals wielding rare earths restrictions as a weapon, Tokyo should hint that it could join forces with Washington to curb China’s access to semiconductor-making devices over which Japan retains supremacy, according to Hei Seki, a Japan Innovation Party lawmaker.  

Seki sees slim chances for China to use that card like it did more than a decade ago against Japan, as the two nations verbally spar over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks on Taiwan. Many nations now see Beijing’s dominance over the critical minerals as problematic and a full-scale trade war with Japan will worsen China’s economic standing given its fragile trade truce with Washington.  

  “Japan is smaller in size than China and militarily, they might be superior. But Japan has an advantage China lacks,” Seki said in an interview Thursday in Tokyo. “Japan has allies. The Japan-US alliance is for a situation like this.” 

 

Chip-making devices accounted for roughly 12 per cent of Japan’s exports to China in 2024, the second biggest market after the US, according to Japanese government data. Washington has been asking Japan to join forces to cripple China’s ability to make advanced semiconductors, which are critical for economic security and defense capabilities. 

 

Seki, who was born and raised in China before obtaining his Japanese citizenship in 2007, was first elected to the national parliament in July where he serves on the upper house’s foreign affairs and defense committee. In September, Beijing banned his entry into China and froze his assets there saying he has long spread fallacies on issues such as Taiwan and the Diaoyu, a controversial cluster of islands Japan calls the Senkakus. 

 

Takaichi must not retract her remarks as requested by China, Seki said. In his view, the remarks made it clearer to China that Japan is ready to help the US preserve Taiwan’s independence. 

 

“When it comes to a Taiwan contingency, I believe it’s actually good that Japan’s prime minister made somewhat bold statements,” he said. “This serves as a form of deterrence against Xi Jinping and China.”

 

While China’s rhetoric shows no sign of easing, actual actions it’s taken so far fall short of hard brakes on its economic activities with Japan, Seki said. The 63-year old pointed to China giving a travel warning, instead of a complete ban. It also knows the limits to what it can do against Japanese companies in China, he said. 

 

“What would happen to Japan if China expelled all Japanese companies out of China?” he said. “Japanese companies would suffer losses, but the Chinese government couldn’t possibly do that. Why? Because those Japanese companies employ a large number of Chinese people.”

 

There is no need for Japan to seek compromises in a rush as China will eventually find a timing to tone down threats, he said. 

 

“Having studied the Chinese Communist Party regime for many years, I understand their habits well,” he said. “They always become arrogant and adopt an intimidating attitude toward those who yield or appear weak. Conversely, they treat strong opponents with politeness. That’s China.”

 

Japan shouldn’t overreact to every single rhetoric from Beijing, but it should consider expelling Xue Jian, China’s consul general in Osaka, according to Seki. Earlier this month Xue threatened to cut off Takaichi’s head in a now-deleted post on X.

 

“If we don’t put a stop to that kind of remarks here, it will create a precedent in favor of them,” Seki said. “No matter how outrageous or terrible their remarks are, they will think it will be OK in Japan. If that happens, Japan-China relations will never achieve a stable relationship.”