중, ‘다카이치 대만 발언’ 보복…희토류 수출 80% 급감 “일본 공장 멈출 판”

China has significantly curtailed its rare earth exports to Japan, marking an 80% decline that is causing alarm within the Japanese manufacturing sector. This restrictive trade measure is widely interpreted as a retaliatory response to recent remarks made by Sanae Takaichi regarding Taiwan. As rare earths are critical components in high-tech manufacturing and clean energy technologies, the sudden supply disruption threatens to stall production lines across various Japanese industries. Analysts suggest that Beijing is leveraging its dominance in the global rare earth supply chain to exert diplomatic pressure on Tokyo. Japanese firms are now scrambling to find alternative sources or adjust their supply chains to mitigate the impact of this sudden scarcity. The situation highlights the ongoing vulnerability of Japanese industry to geopolitical tensions involving China.

This incident underscores the strategic risks posed by supply chain dependencies on China for critical minerals in an increasingly volatile geopolitical climate.