Why This Topic Landed in Japan

Norwegian media reported that rental cars used during a military exercise — at least two of them Chinese state-linked "Deepal" vehicles — had recorded entry codes and the movements of personnel at a military site. Norway's military decided against a blanket ban on Chinese vehicles, instead restricting camera- and sensor-equipped cars from sensitive zones regardless of where they are made. In Japan, this landed on top of long-running wariness that connected cars and communications gear could be used for intelligence-gathering under China's national intelligence law. Commenters tied it to 2025 concerns in Norway over remote-control risks in Chinese-made electric buses, reading it as one more European example in a growing pattern. Some turned the criticism inward, at Japan's own habit of keeping Chinese apps and devices in use.

Key Reaction Themes

  • Distrust of the whole supply chain (most common) — The dominant reaction extended beyond the vehicles to routers, phones, trams and cleaning robots, treating Chinese internet-connected hardware as a bloc that could leak information.
  • Blaming the buyer — Many argued the cameras were obvious, so the military and the procurement side were careless for using the cars at all.
  • Putting it in perspective (a minority) — A smaller group noted the same could happen with a Toyota or a Tesla, and that ordinary cars record data too.

What Japanese Netizens Are Saying

Chinese-made vehicles recorded Norwegian military data

Norwegian media reported that the onboard cameras of Chinese-made rental cars used in a military exercise had recorded sensitive data, including a facility's entry codes.

Sources: AFPBB News, 2ch

Comments:

  • "Cheap stuff, cheap quality."
  • "Even ordinary cars have dashcams filming, you know."
  • "They adopted it knowing full well, right?"
  • "Makes no sense. It ends up as, 'So it'd be fine if it were the U.S. military?!'"
  • "Anyone clueless enough to still be using TP-Link routers? lol"
  • "Any internet-connected product from a Chinese company is a no-go. Chinese law obligates them to provide information, after all."
  • "This year, Chinese-made trams in Europe were sending data too, right?"
  • "Some parliament building adopted Chinese-made cleaning robots."
  • "Investigate whoever arranged it."
  • "It was obvious they had cameras, so honestly the military people who used them were pretty clueless too."
  • "Chinese-made phones and tablets are dangerous too!"
  • "Norway is the weird one for adopting Chinese-made stuff."
  • "Plenty had already been said about this, so why are they riding in them?"
  • "China risk. Europeans are geographically far away, so they don't really grasp how dangerous China is."
  • "This is something that'd happen whether you use a Toyota or a Tesla. How dumb."