Report: Japan to Limit Facial Recognition Tech Exports to China

A man watches as a visitor tries out a facial recognition display at a booth for Chinese t
Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Gabrielle Reyes

Japan is allegedly planning to limit exports of artificial intelligence (A.I.)-powered facial recognition software to China to prevent Beijing from using such technology to “surveil and persecute” ethnic minorities in China, particularly in its westernmost region of Xinjiang, the online newspaper Taiwan News reported on Monday.

“Japan’s government will place export controls on artificial intelligence-powered facial recognition devices and cameras to prevent the technology from being used to surveil and persecute minorities in China,” Taiwan News reported on January 3, though the newspaper did not cite a source for the alleged development.

“China has been using AI and other advanced technologies to deploy large-scale surveillance systems and control the movement of peoples in the Xinjiang Uygur [sic] Autonomous Region and other areas,” the publication noted.

“Tokyo has deemed the new measures necessary to prevent technologies from being used in this way,” Taiwan News claimed.

“With this goal in mind, the Japanese government said it will continue to cooperate with the U.S. and other like-minded countries to roll out further regulations going forward,” the newspaper alleged.

Nikkei Asia, a Japanese business journal, described Japan’s federal government as “considering” the possibility of tightening export regulations on Japanese-made facial recognition software shipped to China on December 24, 2021.

“We’ll look at the E.U. [European Union] approach and others as references as we consider [how to proceed],” Koichi Hagiuda, Japanese Minister for Economy, Trade, and Industry, told Nikkei Asia when asked about the possible export limits at the time.

The business journal observed that Japan’s “lack of a clear legal basis for sanctions” has forced it to move more slowly than its Western counterparts, such as the E.U. and the U.S., in announcing clear intentions for trade restrictions on products intended for China.

“Japan regulates exports of weapons and commercial products with potential military applications that ‘compromise world peace and international security’ under its foreign exchange law, requiring approval by the [Japanese] trade minister,” Nikkei Asia noted at the time.

“Some argue the language of the law can be interpreted to cover human rights,” the publication continued. “But further discussion is needed to determine whether technologies that contribute to rights violations can be restricted in this way.”

SHENZHEN, CHINA - APRIL 26: A Huawei reception employee walks by a display for facial recognition cameras at the company's Bantian campus on April 26, 2019 in Shenzhen, China.Huawei is Chinas most valuable technology brand, and sells more telecommunications equipment than any other company in the world, with annual revenue topping $100 billion U.S. Headquartered in the southern city of Shenzhen, considered Chinas Silicon Valley, Huawei has more than 180,000 employees worldwide, with nearly half of them engaged in research and development. In 2018, the company overtook Apple Inc. as the second largest manufacturer of smartphones in the world behind Samsung Electronics, a milestone that has made Huawei a source of national pride in China. While commercially successful and a dominant player in 5G, or fifth-generation networking technology, Huawei has faced political headwinds and allegations that its equipment includes so-called backdoors that the U.S. government perceives as a national security. U.S. authorities are also seeking the extradition of Huaweis Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, to stand trial in the U.S. on fraud charges. Meng is currently under house arrest in Canada, though Huawei maintains the U.S. case against her is purely political. Despite the U.S. campaign against the company, Huawei is determined to lead the global charge toward adopting 5G wireless networks. It has hired experts from foreign rivals, and invested heavily in R&D to patent key technologies to boost Chinese influence. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

A Huawei reception employee walks by a display for facial recognition cameras at the company’s Bantian campus on April 26, 2019 in Shenzhen, China. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

The U.S. government on December 16 added over 40 Chinese companies — including a Chinese developer of facial-recognition technology — to “either the [U.S.] Commerce Department’s entity list, which restricts access to U.S. exports, or to a [U.S.] Treasury list banning American investment in companies supporting China’s military,” the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

“The agencies and White House officials said the targets were engaged in actions inimical to U.S. interests, including for assisting China’s surveillance and detention of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups in the Xinjiang region,” WSJ noted at the time.

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