TOKYO, Oct 20 — Japan will "take appropriate steps” if China’s new graphite export control measures violate WTO rules, the top government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno said today.

"We will inquire (about) China’s intentions and operational policies of the measures”, Matsuno, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, told a press conference, hours after Beijing’s commerce ministry announced the new export curbs for the minerals essential to EV batteries, saying they were needed to protect national security. — Reuters