Tag - rare-earths

 
Menu
Search
 
July 01, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

RARE EARTHS

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara speaks during a news conference on Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jun 24, 2026
Two Japanese held in China for allegedly smuggling export-restricted goods
The goods the two are alleged to have smuggled were rare-earth related products, media reports said.
Samples of rare earth luminescent materials displayed at an exhibition on China’s manufacturing achievements at the National Museum in Beijing in March
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 24, 2026
China’s mineral squeeze testing Japan’s military buildup
The restrictions are exposing vulnerabilities in Japan’s defense-industrial supply chains while also providing the clearest test yet of Tokyo’s push to bolster economic security.
China’s designation prohibits these U.S. companies from access to items that can be used for both commercial and military purposes.
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2026
China targets U.S. rare earths firms in response to Pentagon list
China’s designation prohibits these U.S. companies from access to items that can be used for both commercial and military purposes.
A sample of dysprosium oxide.
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2026
China’s key minerals exports to Japan stay at low levels in May
Exports of some key types of tungsten, as well as rare-earths dysprosium and terbium, stayed at zero in May, according to Chinese customs data.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a news conference at the Group of Seven summit, in Evian, France, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 18, 2026
In G7 debut, Takaichi puts economic security at heart of Japanese diplomacy
The prime minister’s clearest imprint came in the area of critical minerals, where bloc leaders agreed to step up cooperation on supply-chain resilience and stockpiling.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends her first Group of Seven summit on Monday in Evian-les-Bains, France.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 16, 2026
Takaichi proposes G7 framework for stockpiling critical minerals
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pitched a plan for coordinating critical mineral stockpiles among the group and like-minded nations, amid China’s tight grip on key supply chains.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during the Critical Minerals Ministerial at the State Department in Washington on Feb. 4.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 15, 2026
Trump’s mineral pricing plan faces skeptical G7 and divided industry
Negotiations for a Western trading bloc are stumbling over concerns about the plan’s cost and governance.
British leader Keir Starmer (left) and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attend a business round table meeting at No. 10 Downing St. in London on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 15, 2026
Takaichi and Starmer use talks to push Japan-U.K. ties toward ‘quasi-alliance’
The two leaders also pledged more support for an embattled next-generation fighter jet project involving their countries and Italy.
Rare earths have emerged as a flash point in trade relations in recent years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2026
Shin-Etsu plans new rare-earth refinery to secure supply
The plant will be the company’s third in Fukui Prefecture and will help “to ensure a stable supply of rare-earth-related products and magnets,” a spokesperson for the firm said.
Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat, speaks in an online interview on May 22.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 3, 2026
Former Canadian diplomat detained in China says Japan needs to help constrain Beijing
Countries like Japan, South Korea and Australia cannot counter China on their own, but with the U.S. and India, they could constrain Beijing’s influence, Michael Kovrig says.
A truck carrying rare earths travels toward Lynas Corp's Mount Weld processing plant, northeast of Perth, in Western Australia.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 27, 2026
A warning to critical mineral buyers: avoid butter mountains and aluminum floods
In the 1980s and 1990s, subsidies, cheap energy and price guarantees fueled overproduction of various products which flooded markets, tanked prices and spread pain globally.
Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa attends Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ministerial meetings in the ‌eastern Chinese city ‌of Suzhou on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
May 24, 2026
Japan trade minister holds brief talks with Chinese counterpart amid diplomatic row
Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa is the most senior ​Japanese official to visit China since a diplomatic dispute between the two countries erupted in November.
Since ‌December, Chinese ‌exports of rare earth minerals like dysprosium, terbium and yttrium oxide, as ​well as specialty metal gallium, to Japan have stopped except for a few tiny shipments of yttrium, Chinese customs data shows.
JAPAN
May 23, 2026
China squeezes Japan over rare earths in repeat of 2010 showdown
The halt to exports ⁠began shortly after a diplomatic row over Taiwan erupted in November.
The Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia.
WORLD
May 15, 2026
Pentagon’s ‘deal team six’ aims to challenge China’s grip on rare earth power
A new Pentagon unit is racing to break China’s grip on rare earths with billions in financing and creative dealmaking, marking a far more aggressive U.S. industrial policy shift.
“Areas connected to southern China such as Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam will be potential regions that the company will look into,” said Sojitz Chief Financial Officer Makoto Shibuya.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2026
Japan’s Sojitz eyes Southeast Asia for new rare earths supply
The company will also consider India and other countries if suitable rare earths investment opportunities exist there.
A screen shows news footage of the bilateral meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Busan, South Korea, at a restaurant in Shenzhen, China, on Oct. 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 11, 2026
Trump and China’s Xi set for talks spanning Iran, nuclear, trade and AI
The two sides are expected to agree to forums to facilitate mutual trade and investment, but many details are still to be discussed.
Samples of rare earth-bearing mud extracted from the seabed around Minamitorishima island in February are examined.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 7, 2026
Japan tackles challenges of seafloor rare earth mining, eyeing economic security
In February, Japan succeeded in a test collection of rare earth-bearing mud from a depth of 6,000 meters below sea level near the remote Japanese island of Minamitorishima.
A container ship is seen at the port in Lianyungang, in China's eastern Jiangsu province on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 27, 2026
Under cover of trade truce with Trump, China expands economic pressure toolkit
Beijing is punishing those who shift supply chains from China, tightening rare ​earth licensing, banning foreign AI and cybersecurity tech and weighing curbs on its solar gear.
European Union Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shake hands after signing a memorandum of understanding for a strategic partnership on critical minerals at the State Department in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2026
U.S. and EU deepen cooperation on critical minerals with eye to broader agreement
The two signed a memorandum of understanding for a partnership on producing and securing critical minerals, with a specific ‌action plan ‌for trade announced separately.
Bags containing a mixture of rare earth elements sit on the grounds of Australian mining firm Lynas in Gebeng, eastern Malaysia, on April 8.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 22, 2026
Delicate extraction: Malaysia offers rare earths alternative to China
China makes up about 90% of the world’s market for rare earth minerals, stoking fears about Beijing’s ability to choke global supplies.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

TDC Global challenges norms at Japan workplaces
TDC Global challenges norms at Japan workplaces

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER