Japan Says It Still Plans to Remove South Korea From Export List
(Bloomberg) --
Japan plans to press ahead with its plan to remove South Korea from a list of trusted export destinations, rebuffing a public effort by the U.S. to calm rising tensions between its two key East Asian allies.
“This is a change in the management of exports that's necessary for national security,” government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday. “There's no change in policy and we will calmly proceed with the formalities.”
No date has been announced for the decision on the so-called “white list.” Removal would mean South Korean companies face more cumbersome procedures for importing a wide range of Japanese goods, potentially disrupting manufacturing beyond the region.
Suga's comments came hours after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he would meet with the foreign ministers of both countries as they attend Asean meetings in Bangkok this week and encourage them to seek a solution.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha are also set to meet separately on the sidelines of Asean, Kang's ministry said.
Japan's export control changes, first announced July 1, come amid a resurgence of simmering resentment over whether it has sufficiently compensated victims of its 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. The deterioration in ties threatens to undermine the ability of the two countries to work together to deal with common threats such as North Korea.
Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko also told reporters that Japan would press ahead with the export control plans. Domestic media have said the cabinet will approve the decision Aug. 2, allowing it to come into force later in the month.
--With assistance from Emi Nobuhiro.
To contact the reporters on this story: Isabel Reynolds in Tokyo at ireynolds1@bloomberg.net;Takashi Hirokawa in Tokyo at thirokawa@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Scott at bscott66@bloomberg.net, Jon Herskovitz, Karen Leigh
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
-
A New Samvat Wishlist: Inclusive Prosperity And Human Development
India has strengthened its economic foundations through infrastructure, digital access and enterprise. Its next growth chapter must deepen productivity, create better livelihoods and widen participation in prosperity.
-
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: The Audacious Plot To Spy On Jensen Huang
A Taipei dinner, a Singapore chip buyer and a suspected Chinese asset: inside the alleged spy operation that got close to NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
