Japan to halt buying Huawei, ZTE equipment

(Image credit: Image Credit: J.Lekavicius / Shutterstock)

Japan is getting ready to close its doors to Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese technology companies.

According to media reports, the Japanese government will be revising its internal rules on procurement early next week in a bid to boost national cybersecurity.

No specific companies will be mentioned in the internal rules, but it was said that the measures will boost security that applies to both ZTE and Huawei. The Japanese government has been relatively quiet on the matter, with chief government spokesman only saying that the country was in touch with the States.


Both ZTE and Huawei are yet to comment, while the Chinese government reacted, expressing ‘serious concern’. “We hope the Japanese side can provide a fair competition environment for Chinese companies operating in Japan and not do anything to harm bilateral cooperation and mutual trust.”

Huawei and ZTE got caught in the middle of a trade war between the United States and China. ZTE was first fined $1bn and was forced to completely overhaul its boardroom, after it was discovered that it violated an agreement with the US and exported US-built tech to Iran and North Korea.

Huawei, on the other hand, is being accused of helping the Chinese government conduct espionage against its adversaries. For that reason, an increasing number of countries around the world are banning Huawei from participating in the building of their 5G infrastructure.

Image Credit: J.Lekavicius / Shutterstock