China Detained 2 Japanese on Suspicion of Smuggling

The Japanese nationals were detained in May in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, Japan’s government said, amid tensions between the two countries.

By Javier C. Hernández and Hisako Ueno

China detains two Japanese nationals over alleged rare earth smuggling

Escalation of dispute with Tokyo comes as Beijing opens whistleblower hotline for violations of critical mineral exports

China detains two Japanese nationals on smuggling charges

China has detained two Japanese nationals on suspicion of smuggling banned goods. Reports suggest that at least one case may involve strategic rare-earth-related exports.

2 Japanese held in China over alleged rare earths smuggling

China has detained two Japanese nationals over alleged attempts to take rare earth-related products out of the country. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Wednesday that one of the two was detained by Chinese authorities on May 18 and the other a week later, accused of violating Chinese laws governing the import and export of restricted goods. Tokyo confirmed the detentions, without giving further details, citing privacy. One of the detainees is an employee of a Japanese...

By Caroline Lin

Two Japanese held in China for allegedly smuggling export-restricted goods

The goods the two are alleged to have smuggled were rare-earth related products, media reports said.