TOKYO (AP) — Two Japanese citizens are being held in China on suspicion of smuggling materials that are banned from being imported or exported, a Japanese government official announced Wednesday. Reports indicate the case may be connected to rare earths — critical materials that China largely controls.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told journalists in Tokyo that Chinese customs authorities notified Japanese consular offices in Shenyang and Dalian about the arrests. One individual was detained on May 18, and the other was taken into custody a week later, both as part of what Kihara described as “the same alleged case.”
Kihara confirmed that both detainees are in good health, but declined to provide additional details about the individuals or the specifics of the case, citing privacy concerns and the active nature of the investigation.
In Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, acknowledged that two Japanese citizens had been detained for breaking Chinese law, though no specifics about the case were offered.
“What we would like to emphasize is that the Japanese side should educate and remind Japanese citizens and enterprises in China to abide by Chinese laws and regulations,” Guo stated at a daily press briefing.
According to Kyodo News agency, the two Japanese nationals are employees of a major Japanese machinery manufacturer, with one working at the company’s Chinese subsidiary. Kyodo reported that their alleged attempt to remove materials connected to rare earths may have been considered a violation of Chinese law.
The arrests come roughly five months after Beijing prohibited exports to Japan of dual-use goods — items that can serve both commercial and military purposes. While China has maintained that the export controls do not apply to commercial products, trade figures show that Chinese exports of rare earth magnets to Japan have dropped since the restrictions were put in place.
Relations between the two major Asian economies have been under significant stress for several months. Tensions escalated after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested late last year that Chinese military action against Taiwan — a self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own territory — could justify a Japanese military response. That stance marked a departure from the strategic ambiguity that previous Japanese leaders had maintained on the Taiwan issue.
Adding to the friction, a Japanese man who had been held since March 2023 was convicted last year in China on espionage charges and sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
