Japan more prepared than most for China’s mineral squeeze
For export to Japan, on September 5, 2010, the bulldozer scoop soil containing a variety of rare soil to be loaded on a ship in Lianyung in Jianyung, Jiangsu in East China.
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Japan quietly takes a path for supply chain flexibility.
At the beginning of April, Japan became a Canary in the coal mine for Beijing’s mineral dominance long before China’s export banned to various rare land elements and magnets commonly used in automotive, robot and defense sectors.
In 2010, the East Asian country was pushed to the panic mode, where China imposed a ban on exporting to the rare worlds that target Tokyo. Heated zone dispute.
The embargo lasted only two months, but it was enough to encourage the world’s fourth largest economy to change its approach to supply chain security.
Japan with associating, recycling and encouraging alternative technologies folded Australia’s Lynas, the world’s largest rare soil producer outside China, is intensively in non-Chinese rare land projects, the largest rare land producer of China.
As a result, according to data provided by Argus Media, Japan’s general dependence on Chinese rare worlds fell below 60% of more than 60% during the incident.
Jonathan Rowntree, CEO of Niron Magnetics, who produces rare soilless permanent magnets, said that the US -based company was born in the rest of the world, which follows the world’s first rare land crisis.
“Therefore, Japan has been prepared much more than many other countries this time.” He said.
“They stock more, INVESTED IN LYNASAnd the West was guaranteed to meet some of this demand through a combination of Lynas, Australian mines and Malaysia processing facilities of the West rare.
Japan Plans have been reported China to reduce its dependence on rare land imports below 50% this year. CNBC reached the Japanese government for comment.
A worker, on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 on a pier in Japan, Japan, Japan Petroleum, Gaz and Metals National Corp.
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China is the undisputed leader of the supply chain of critical minerals. producing From mines and processing Almost 90%imports and improves these materials from other countries.
Western authorities have repeatedly marked Beijing’s supply chain domination as a strategic challenge, especially when the critical demand for mineral was expected. grow foldingClean energy passage as it accelerates.
Japan’s supply chain transformation observed It reminds us of how difficult it is to escape from both a template and China’s critical mineral orbit for both Western countries.
To go more?
According to Nils Backerg, the founder and manager of Blue, the consulting project, it was successful not only by investing in rare land mining through Japan Lynas and international supply chains, but also in the facilities required to convert and develop materials into useful goods.
Nevertheless, in the CNBC, the country has a long way to reduce its dependence on China in some key areas. This applies to heavy rare soil elements, which are often less abundant in the world shell and raise their values.
On Tuesday, August 6, 2024, Lynas Nadir Earths Ltd. Processing facility. Lynas Rare Earths is researching for rare soil minerals such as serium and neodim and investigating the mines.
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China’s last ban on export stresses the importance of Beijing in severe rare worlds, adding, “There are not many rare land Lynas and most of those sent to China for more treatment.” He said.
However, Lynas continued to make progress in this field. Company for last month announced Two heavy rare breakthroughs in the world claim that they first produce them out of China for the first time.
‘A real problem’
China’s latest rare land export pavement was applied as part of a response to the US President Donald Trump’s increase in Beijing products.
He continued: “When the tariff war began and when the tariffs were placed in China, China’s first thing meant ‘we will stop exporting rare worlds’. We could not produce a car in America or Europe a few weeks later, so a real problem, a real problem,
“No country in the Western world wants a country to cornered the market.” He said.
Western automobile industry groups have been particularly forced by export pavements, and many of them are increasingly concerned about production cuts.
Nissan Motor Co. Ivan Espinosa, CEO, speaks during an interview on Thursday, May 15, 2025 in the center of Japan in Yokohama.
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The disorder also spread to Japanese automobile manufacturers. Suzuki engine Suspended production of the popular Swift car model at the beginning of this month local media The step is attributed to China’s rare land export restrictions. A Suzuki engine spokesman CNBC did not respond to the request request.
By the way, the Japanese car giant Nissan Working with the Japan government and the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, he said he was investigating ways to minimize the impact of China’s export controls.
“We need to continue to find alternatives for the future, protect flexibility and keep our options open.” He said.
A push for alternatives
When we look forward, Niron Magnetics said that Rowntree, a government and industrial approach that covers everything from China’s mineral domination, from the acceleration of domestic mines to new alternatives to provide adequate magnet materials, would be necessary.
“Everyone has seen this supply bottleneck is a problem. We all know that this could happen for a long time, but now it happened.” He said.
“I think many customers share my opinion – this problem is not likely to disappear and we need to have alternatives in the West to address it.”
The domestic production of Europe’s rare lands is limited. Just like the USA, the region intensive trust In imports, especially from China plans Domestic resources and processing capabilities continue to develop.
For example, Belgium Chemical Group SolvayIt aims to supply 30% of Europe’s processed rare soil demand by 2030, operating the largest rare soil processing facility outside China in La Rochelle, France.
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Gracelo Basque, the director of Critical Minerals Security Program, a Washington -based thinking tank (CSIS) Center for Strategic and International Research (CSIS), said that the US and the European Union should work together to create a market for non -Chinese worlds.
“The West creates a new rare soil industry outside China at a time when prices are low and companies are struggling with profitability,” Basqueran said. He said.
Başkaran stated that rare worlds are entering almost every modern industry, tax loans and subsidies will be “necessary” to ensure that non -Chinese projects can be built and scaled.
