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July 12, 2026
 

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RARE EARTHS

Sermitsiaq mountain (Saddle mountain), a 1210 meter tall landmark is seen behind Nuuk, Greenland. U.S. President Donald Trump's sudden flurry of public comments about taking Greenland has made the issue a top priority again.
WORLD
Jan 8, 2026
Trump team races to come up with deals for his Greenland vision
The U.S. president has long wanted the territory for what he says are security reasons.
China has banned the export of dual-use products to Japan following remarks about Taiwan by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 7, 2026
China’s dual-use export ban on Japan a decisive escalation
Established trade flows are at risk if the restrictions are fully implemented.
An aerosol drone in Beijing. China’s catalogue of dual-use goods includes drones, nuclear materials and facilities, aerospace engine components and specialist alloys.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 6, 2026
China slaps export controls on Japan military for Taiwan remarks
All dual-use items are banned from being exported to Japan for military use effective immediately, China’s Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.
An ingot of neodymium and praseodymium, two rare earths with powerful magnetic qualities, in China, in October 2013.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jan 3, 2026
Inside China’s six-decade campaign to dominate rare earths
From Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping, generations of Chinese Communist Party bosses and military leaders invested in a strategic but heavily polluting industry.
A sample of gallium. China is still restricting the rare earth elements that the U.S. needs to produce its own permanent magnets and other products, market participants say.
BUSINESS
Dec 26, 2025
U.S. rare earth buyers still see China curbs despite Trump deal
The reduced trade highlights continuing tensions in the U.S.-China relationship in the months since Trump and Xi hammered out a truce.
An official from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology explains the agency's plan to conduct a test to excavate the deep seabed off Minamitorishima and collect deep-sea mud, in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2025
Japan to test deep-sea extraction of rare-earth mud
The test is set to be the first of its kind in the world, reaching depths of about 6,000 meters, according to JAMSTEC.
Soil containing rare earth minerals is prepared for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China, in October.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Dec 23, 2025
China, rare earths and ‘weaponized interdependence’
China has long understood the strategic value of its dominance in rare earth production.
Japanese Ambassador to India Keiichi Ono (second from right) speaks during a joint conference on economic security cooperation between India and Japan, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 11, 2025
Japan and India meet in New Delhi to discuss economic security cooperation
Participants at the meeting confirmed the importance of setting up supply chains spanning the two countries for semiconductors and rare earth minerals.
Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China, in 2010.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 3, 2025
EU pushes to end its dependence on China for rare earths
China, the world’s top producer of rare earths, in October announced new controls on the export of the elements.
A rare earths processing plant in Dingnan County, Ganzhou, in eastern China's Jiangxi province on Nov. 20. The U.S. is looking to cut its dependence on China.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 2, 2025
U.S. moves to deepen minerals supply chain in AI race with China
The initiative, which builds on efforts dating back to the first administration of President Donald Trump, unfolds as the U.S. looks to cut its dependence on China.
A sample of monazite, a mineral used in the rare earth industry to extract elements such as cerium, lanthanum and neodymium, at the Geological Museum of China in Beijing. The European Union is set to announce a plan to reduce its reliance on raw materials from China.
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2025
‘Slow’ EU to unveil plan for cutting reliance on raw materials from China
The EU will face challenges creating its own critical raw materials and rare earths industry, largely from scratch, from mines to extraction, processing and stockpiling.
China achieved manufacturing dominance thanks to its weaker protections for workers, communities and the environment. Now it’s exporting that model.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2025
China’s unfair labor model is going global
China’s low rights model is no longer a domestic labor issue but a systemic challenge to global labor standards, supply chain governance and fair market competition.
Villagers of Tha Ton subdistrict in Thailand hold placards during a public consultation on Nov. 10, as they call for the shutdown of mines upstream and the restoration of water quality in the Kok, Sai, Ruak, Mekong and Salween rivers, amid increased rare earth and gold mining at the Kok River’s source in Myanmar, where unregulated operations may release toxic chemicals, according to new research.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 24, 2025
Toxic mines put Southeast Asia’s rivers and people at risk, study says
More than 2,400 mines — many of them illegal and unregulated — could be releasing deadly chemicals such as cyanide and mercury into river water, new research shows.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang speaks during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 26. On Sunday at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, Li laid out China’s rationale for its sweeping curbs of rare earths, then unveiled details of a global mining initiative with friendly nations.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 24, 2025
China’s Li launches charm offensive on rare earths at G20
Critical minerals became a defining theme of Africa’s first G20 summit, with sessions dedicated to the topic as European leaders grappled with supply chain issues.
Hei Seki, member of the House of Councilors, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 21, 2025
Japan should counter China threats with U.S. help, lawmaker says
Washington has been asking Japan to join forces to cripple China’s ability to make advanced semiconductors, which are critical for economic security and defense capabilities.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2025
Xi risks global blowback if China cuts off rare earths for Japan
Rare earths are a lever that China has used against Japan before.
A sample of gallium. China produces over 90% of the world's processed rare earths and rare earth magnets.
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2025
China starts work on easing rare earth export rules but short of Trump hopes
China is working on easing rare earth export rules, but Washington shouldn’t hope for a complete rollback of restrictions, industry insiders said.
Satellite view of Minamitorishima Island
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2025
Japan and U.S. to join forces to mine rare earths near Pacific island
The move comes after the two allies struck an agreement to work together to cut their reliance on China for the critical material.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on Air Force One after his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30. During their talks, the two leaders discussed the suspension of rare-earth export controls by China and other issues.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2025
What Chinese leaders really think of Trump
The Chinese view is that we are entering a prolonged phase of counter-globalization.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30. Tokyo's strategic positioning between Beijing and Washington is central to countering China’s economic and geopolitical influence.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 5, 2025
What the U.S.-China summit means for Japan
China’s willingness to weaponize commercial dependencies rather than projecting strength exposed the fragility of its economic statecraft.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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