It was learned that in May, in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, China, two Japanese employees of a Chinese local subsidiary of a major Japanese manufacturer were detained by Chinese authorities.

According to the Japanese government, the two are Japanese male employees working for a local subsidiary of a major Japanese electronics manufacturer. The employees are suspected of processing rare earth-related products, for which China has imposed export restrictions to Japan, and attempting to take them out of China to Japan without an export permit.

Regarding this matter, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun acknowledged at a regular press conference on the 24th that the two Japanese nationals had been detained, stating, "The Chinese side has already informed the Japanese side of the situation regarding the relevant incident," and emphasized, "The Japanese side should educate and warn Japanese nationals and Japanese companies in China to abide by Chinese laws and regulations."

Deutsche Welle (Chinese version), a German media outlet that reported on this case, stated, "In recent years, the Chinese government has strengthened its control over rare earths and used them as a powerful diplomatic card. Since relations with Japan deteriorated in November last year, China has halted exports of some important minerals to Japan and implemented export restrictions on dual-use items, including rare earths. It also requested its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan and canceled a series of economic, trade, and cultural exchange activities."

Furthermore, it stated, "Since the Anti-Espionage Law was enacted in China in 2014, cases of Japanese nationals being detained in China have frequently occurred," citing the example of an Astellas Pharma employee who was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison in China last year. It also reported, "The detention of two Japanese nationals in China this time could further heighten tensions between China and Japan, the two largest economies in Asia."

Meanwhile, on Chinese social media, comments such as "That's good. We shouldn't let Japan think there's a loophole to exploit.", "Didn't Japan say it had enough rare earths?", "Weren't they supposed to go dig in the sea (deep sea)?", "In other words, many Japanese executives of Japanese companies are entering China with espionage missions, right?", "Japanese companies should just return to Japan. They can't compete with (Chinese) domestic manufacturers anyway.", "If they still haven't left China in this situation, it must be because they have a mission that needs to be carried out secretly.", and "Export restrictions should be further strengthened" were posted. (Translated and edited by Kitada)