Japan alarmed by China's rare earths threat

Tokyo is concerned at signs that Beijing may be laying the groundwork to restrict access to the metals vital to manufacturing, writes River Akira Davis from Tokyo

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A truck hauls material out of an area where heavy rare earths are mined, near Longnan, China, last April.

(NYT)

Coded threats from China that it might restrict exports of rare earths to Japan have raised alarms across Japanese business and politics, signalling a sharp escalation in a months-long geopolitical feud between the countries.

China's Ministry of Commerce said it would ban the export to Japan of all “dual-use” items with potential military applications, citing national security concerns. The official announcement, issued Tuesday, was vague on specific commodities. Government-affiliated media, however, said Beijing was considering whether to include certain rare earths among the items it was restricting.

The state-run China Daily reported that authorities were considering more stringent reviews for licenses to export so-called medium and heavy rare earths — scarce groups of metals found in devices ranging from electric vehicle motors to missile systems.

Shortly after the ministry’s announcement, the former head of the state-affiliated Global Times said on social media that a suspension of rare earth shipments “would strike an exceptionally broad range of industrial sectors” and that “the possibility that anything could happen cannot be ruled out.”