The Word Game and Its Underlying Mentality: Comment on Kyodo News’ Narrative Trap in Its Report on Iwaya’s Visit to China- 大数跨境

The Word Game and Its Underlying Mentality: Comment on Kyodo News’ Narrative Trap in Its Report on Iwaya’s Visit to China

稀土产业研究

2026-09-30

On September 29, 2026, Takeshi Iwaya, Chairman of the Japan Association for the Promotion of International Trade, met with He Lifeng, Vice Premier of the State Council of China, in Beijing to exchange views on China-Japan economic and trade exchanges as well as the approval procedures for civilian rare earth exports. Kyodo News released a breaking news report on this meeting, using the word “urge” in its English article, which is often translated into Chinese as “duncu” (urge, press). The media also framed this routine request raised at a non-governmental economic and trade event as an explosive news story. A close reading of the report reveals that this is not merely a matter of word choice, but a narrative packaging with clear ideological leanings. It reflects the reluctance of some right-wing Japanese media to face objective realities and acknowledge their vulnerable position in the supply chain.

In terms of the nature of the event, Iwaya attended the meeting as the head of a non-governmental economic and trade organization, rather than a cabinet minister of the Japanese government. The talks belonged to non-governmental economic and trade exchanges, not formal diplomatic negotiations between the two governments. Since the start of this year, Japanese business associations and cross-party parliamentary delegations have visited China on multiple occasions, repeatedly requesting faster approval for civilian rare earth export permits. In other words, the rare earth demand raised by Iwaya during this trip was a long-standing request, not a newly emerged issue, and it carried no real explosive significance.

From an economic and trade perspective, Japan’s high-end manufacturing sector relies heavily on rare earth supplies from China, placing Japan on the demand side of the supply chain. Iwaya’s delegation came to China essentially to voice requests, hoping that China would accelerate the processing of civilian rare earth export permits within the framework of relevant laws and regulations. Given this real dynamic, Kyodo’s choice of “urge”, instead of the neutral term “request”, is telling. “Urge” carries the connotation of pressing or prompting another party to act, with a nuance of a superior making demands of a subordinate. Applied to this meeting scenario, the wording effectively reverses the real-world relationship between the two sides in the narrative: it recasts Japan’s act of coming to make requests as Japan pressing China to take action.

As a matter of fact, China’s review of rare earth export permits is a sovereign administrative practice conducted in accordance with domestic laws and regulations. Any enterprise from any country applying for an export permit must undergo review, to distinguish civilian use from dual-use risk items. This is a legitimate sovereign power, not subject to external pressure or interference. Vice Premier He Lifeng’s remark that “there will be no problem if it is for civilian use” merely reaffirmed the existing policy orientation: trade channels for compliant civilian rare earths remain open. It did not promise revisions to existing regulatory rules or shorter review timelines. This was a reaffirmation of established policy, not a new concession made specifically for this meeting.

By deliberately using verbs with an assertive tone and labelling this repeated non-governmental exchange as breaking news, Kyodo News is engaging in agenda-setting. The primary target audience for this framing is the Japanese domestic public opinion. Japan’s industrial sector has long worried about rare earth supply chain security, and anxiety continues to spread. Through narrative packaging, Kyodo turns a non-governmental delegation’s appeal into a story of Japan achieving diplomatic progress and proactively pressing China. Domestically, this serves to ease panic within industrial circles; internationally, it seeks to maintain an image of Japanese assertiveness in global public opinion.

Behind this narrative tactic lies a deep-seated mindset among certain right-wing Japanese media. Though objectively heavily reliant on China’s rare earth supply and positioned in a weak spot in the supply chain, they refuse to show vulnerability in news coverage or face the real balance of power, still less admit their dependence on China’s regulatory approval process. Though they come to China to make requests, they seek to project a commanding posture through news wording, retrieving a sense of dignity only by rhetorical means. This is exactly a contradictory mentality that evades reality and refuses to recognize their own situation.

The bottom line of news reporting is to stay faithful to facts, rather than use rhetorical tricks to reverse the roles of involved parties. Non-governmental economic and trade exchanges are built on equality and mutual benefit, and supply chain cooperation rests on mutual respect. Resorting to words like “urge” to construct a false assertive narrative, and hyping ordinary economic dialogue as major breaking news, can only deliver temporary psychological comfort in public opinion. It cannot alter the underlying industrial reality. Stable China-Japan economic and trade cooperation requires rational communication rooted in facts, not narrative packaging via word games in news reports.

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稀土产业研究稀土产业链深度研究报告与资讯。稀土之于我，不只是产业，更是一种恒定的牵引力；我就像那不参与化学反应的 4f 电子，始终在内层轨道守望着它。

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