China’s pressure campaign tests Trump’s commitment to Japan

Beijing’s move this week to add 20 more Japanese entities to its export-control list is the latest chapter in a complex US-Japan-China geopolitical triangle.

Over the past seven months, an angry China has punished Tokyo repeatedly. A miffed Japan is left feeling betrayed.

And a war-distracted Washington has struggled to navigate between the two, adding further tension in a region already on tenterhooks, according to analysts and former US government officials.

The gnawing unease was sparked in...