Japan called China's ban on dual-use exports for its military "absolutely unacceptable" on Wednesday, amid a looming threat of broader curbs on vital rare earths in an escalating dispute between Asia's top two economies.

China’s warning to Japan that it could choke off supplies of rare earths, its favorite weapon in trade conflicts, targets a persistent vulnerability among Japanese manufacturers after more than a decade of Tokyo trying to reduce reliance on its rival.

China has been moving strategically in response to the latest spat with Japan, with a view of reshaping the world order in Asia

Hei Seki, a China-born Japanese opposition lawmaker who was sanctioned by the mainland last year for his anti-Beijing stance, arrive