Rare Earth Metals Will Be Mined in Vietnam by the Japanese

Japan is finalizing plans to mine rare-earth metals in Vietnam, a bid to reduce its dependence on Chinese production accounting for 97 percent of the world’s supply. Rare-earth metals are crucial for many high-tech manufacturing processes, and a recent disruption in Chinese supply rattled Japanese companies. Japan alleges a Chinese ban on exports in retaliation for the arrest of a Chinese fishing captain near disputed islands, though China denies the charge. Regardless of intent, the incident exposed Japan’s reliance on Chinese supply, and other countries also seek to secure their supply to this strategic resource. Japanese and Vietnamese officials will finalize the deal in Hanoi later this month, with the move an example of how global and diversified production chains might counterbalance states’ use of strategic resources as foreign-policy tools. – YaleGlobal