CHINA imposed new export controls today on 40 Japanese entities it says are contributing to the country’s “remilitarisation,” as tensions with Tokyo continue to rise.

Twenty entities, including Mitsui E&S, which makes engines and other equipment for ships, have been added to a watch list for dual-use items, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes, according to a statement by China’s Commerce Ministry.

Chinese companies exporting to these firms will be required to apply for special licenses, submit risk assessment reports on the Japanese companies and written pledges that the dual-use items will not be used for military purposes.

Additionally, 20 other Japanese entities that had been put on a watch list in February have been placed on a control list, meaning both Chinese and foreign exporters are banned from selling them dual-use items made in China, the Commerce Ministry said.

The companies on the control list include multiple divisions of Mitsubishi Corporation.

“China’s measures are entirely justified, reasonable and lawful. They are aimed at firmly deterring Japan’s reckless pursuit of ‘new militarism,’” read the Chinese Commerce Ministry statement.

“We hope Japan will recognise its mistakes, reverse its wrongful course, genuinely reflect on its past and return to the right track.”

Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have been increasingly tense since Japan’s far-right Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last year implied Japan could intervene if China used military force against the breakaway Chinese province of Taiwan.

Ms Takaichi’s government is also further reinforcing Japan with more offensive capabilities, including deploying longer-range missiles on remote islands and promoting lethal weapons exports now allowed under a new policy. 

Japan will revise its defence and security documents by December, which could further increase its defence budget.

Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force announced today that it has deployed a Type-12 missile launcher on the country’s southern-most remote island of Minamitorishima.

China’s diplomatic relations towards Taiwan is governed by three principles. 

These principles are that there is only one China in the world, Taiwan is part of that China, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is its sole legitimate government. 

Every country that wants formal diplomatic ties with Beijing must accept and respect this framework.

This principle has been accepted across the international community, leaving Taiwan with just 12 diplomatic allies as of 2026.