Group of Seven leaders meeting in Hiroshima this year vowed "to increase our collective assessment, preparedness, deterrence and response to economic coercion."
While they did not mention China, its economic power -- a product of its enormous market -- has been brought to bear on trading partners in recent years.
Worldwide, around 130 cases of coercive behavior by China were identified from 2010 to June 2023, according to data obtained by Nikkei from German think tank Mercator Institute for China Studies.
When Australia called for an investigation into the origin of COVID-19, Beijing responded with increased tariffs on timber, coal, wine and other products from the country. Taiwan voicing opposition to Beijing's insistence that they are the same country under its "One China" policy resulted in import bans on seafood and other products from the island.
More recently, China suspended imports of Japanese seafood following the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. A boycott list of Japanese companies such as cosmetics makers Shiseido and Kao has spread on Chinese social media.
The economic security and industrial policy guidelines that the Japanese government is putting together are expected to include economic coercion measures such as international cooperation to prevent coercive acts, support for countries that have been subject to such acts and trade restrictions like increased tariffs.
The guidelines are also expected to include measures to deal with forced technology transfers. Japan plans to identify technologies in which it has an advantage and work with industry to safeguard against leaks.
Several German automakers have collaborated to draw a line around technologies that they want to keep safe from overseas rivals. Japan is likely to model its measures after these efforts.
China, which joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 and has benefited from free trade, has shown a tendency to give preferential treatment to foreign manufacturers until their technology can be acquired and domestically reproduced. After that, these companies face a harsher reality.
Local governments have instructed area hospitals to use only Chinese-made medical equipment. In office equipment, foreign makers of multifunction printers were pressured to transfer their technology to Chinese partners, a move that was later withdrawn after a backlash.
Some companies have withdrawn from production in China due to the risk of technology leaks. Japan's Oki Electric Industry has stopped producing printers in China, and Fujifilm Business Innovation plans to close its Shanghai multifunction printer factory next year.
There is no clear definition of what constitutes coercion, highlighting the need for national authorities to discuss standards.
The European Union has reached an agreement on draft rules to combat economic coercion, which will come into force this fall. The U.S. Congress is also considering a bill that includes measures to counter economic pressure with China in mind.
"We need to build a framework that can respond quickly while maintaining the validity of international rules," said Junichi Sugawara, a principal at Tokyo-based Owls Consulting Group.