On Tuesday, the Japanese government formally stated that 23 new items, including advanced semiconductor manufacturing machinery, will be added to its list of exports that are subject to regulation.
The decision, which comes after restrictions akin to those imposed by the U.S., is anticipated to go into force on July 23 following a two-month public awareness period.
Japan regulates the export of weapons and other items with potential military uses under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. The ministry of economy, trade, and industry must first approve such exports.
Except for the 42 nations and territories identified as friendly, the 23 new products will need specific permissions. Exports to China and a few other nations become much more selective as a result.
Extreme ultraviolet lithography production equipment and three-dimensional memory device stacking etching equipment are among the most recent additions.
These tools are used to create cutting-edge, high-performance logic devices with circuit widths of 10 to 14 nanometers or fewer that are used for arithmetic operations.
Exports of manufacturing tools for cutting-edge semiconductors used in supercomputers and artificial intelligence have been severely restricted by the United States to China. It had asked the Netherlands and Japan, who also possess this technology, to take equivalent actions.
In a move believed to be countering U.S. measures, Chinese authorities announced on Sunday that it will suspend procurement of products made by U.S. semiconductor giant Micron Technology for critical information infrastructure, citing a significant risk to national security.
On Tuesday, the Chinese commerce ministry expressed firm opposition to the new Japanese export controls. China has the right to take measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, the ministry said.
