Japan’s Companies Sour on China After Years of Brushing Off Risk

Japanese companies are increasingly abandoning an approach to business in China that once seemed immune to politics, a stark shift after years when they were the biggest single investors in their neighbor’s economy.

In an era defined by geopolitical risks and worry over China’s faltering growth, the economic math no longer adds up for the likes of Nippon Steel Corp., which said in July it was exiting its joint venture in China. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. suspended its local operations indefinitely last year, a casualty of slumping car sales and China’s rapid shift to electric vehicles.