Tokyo/Seoul, July 9: Japan on Tuesday rebuffed South Korea’s calls to scrap restrictions on a few high-tech exports, escalating tensions in the decades-old diplomatic spat that has threatened to trouble the global market supply of smartphones and memory chips.
According to Reuters news reports, Japan last week said it would begin to tighten curbs over three materials exports used in smartphone chips and display, citing a spat with Seoul over the South Koreans who were forced to work for Japanese companies during World War Two.
The moves, likely to jolt tech giants SK Hynix (000660.KS) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), among the others, noted Tokyo’s sway on a crucial part of the global market supply chain.
After concluding a cabinet conference, Japanese industry minister Hiroshige Seko told a media conference, “Whether Japan implements additional measures depends on South Korea’s response.”
He added Japan was “not thinking at all” about scraping the curbs and that they didn’t breach the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
A South Korean government official said a foreign ministry official was likely to hold a discussion on the restrictions with his counterparts in Washington DC. South Korean trade minister was considering to pay an official visit to the United States, according to a spokesperson.