Japanese media have noticed that China's export volume of rare earth to Japan has declined notably! On June 21, according to a report by Kyodo News, Japanese media stated that China exported 123 tons of rare earth magnets to Japan in May, a 34.6% decrease from the previous month, falling to its lowest level since May last year. Magnets are one of the representative applications of rare earth, widely used in motors for electric vehicles (EVs) and industrial machinery.
Japanese media pointed out that exports of rare earth magnets have been below 200 tons for three consecutive months. In May, China’s overall export volume of rare earth magnets to the world only decreased by 7.7%. However, compared with this, the decline in exports to Japan was particularly significant. Additionally, rare metals listed under dual-use items include tungsten carbide, which remained at zero exports to Japan in May—following zero exports from February to April. It is clear that Japanese media are clearly sensing that China is tightening its rare earth exports to Japan ever more strictly.
Zero exports of rare earth under the dual-use items list, coupled with continued sharp declines in other rare earth exports, explains why Taro Aso openly criticized China during the G7 summit, claiming, “China deliberately uses control measures on critical minerals to disrupt global supply chains, imposing differentiated export restrictions targeting Japan, severely undermining stability in Japan’s EV, precision machinery, and defense industries, and demanding that China immediately lift these controls.” She also joined forces with other G7 countries in jointly calling for the establishment of a critical mineral reserve and supply system independent of China.
Aso’s criticism indirectly confirms that Japan’s domestic rare earth reserves are being continuously depleted, and Japan clearly feels the pain. Therefore, she has made loud accusations on the international stage in an attempt to exert pressure on us. However, Japan’s criticism and appeals are clearly ineffective. In fact, to better and more responsibly prevent Japan from re-traveling down the path of militarism, we must continue tightening rare earth exports to Japan, intensify efforts to combat smuggling, and cut off Japan’s illegal access to critical rare earth resources.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1868566046734538/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.