Japanese media criticizes Tokyo's export restrictions on Seoul due to repercussions for Japanese firms

일본 언론도 징용보복에 우려•비판 목소리 "日기업에 타격될 것"Japanese news outlets also slammed Tokyo's decision to restrict exports to Seoul.That's because the move is expected to affect Japanese companies as well.Yoon Jung-min turns the spotlight to the reaction from within.Japanese news outlets have criticized Tokyo's export restrictions on South Korea which affect shipments of high-tech materials used in chips and displays,... saying the move will also harm Japanese industry.The Yomiuri Shimbun said on Wednesday that Japanese companies have expressed concerns that the export restrictions would undermine economic ties between Seoul and Tokyo, as well as hurting Japan.It said both countries are maintaining 'horizontal trade' by supplying materials to each other, pointing out that the restrictions on South Korea would also negatively affect the material supply chains of Japanese companies.It went on to say that Korean companies are major buyers of those materials produced in Japan.Japan's right-wing Sankei Shimbun also pointed out that excluding Seoul from the 'export restriction whitelist' will have repercussions for Japanese firms.Korea analyst at the Japan Research Institute Hidehiko Mukoyama said in the newspaper that 80 percent of Korean semiconductor exports go to China and Hong Kong,... and Japanese companies in China will be affected.Mukoyama added in an interview with the Nihon Keizai Shimbun that restoring trust between the two countries is crucial to stave off the worst-case scenario.Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.