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Tomorrow, Japan's prime minister arrives at the White House, her first visit amid rising tensions in the Middle East. But oil is not the only crisis on the table. China has restricted the supply of rare earths that it sends to Japan. These are the metals that power everything from electric vehicles to missiles, raising the stakes for Tokyo's auto and defense industries. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Tokyo.
ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE: Last month, China announced it was restricting exports to Japan of items with dual uses - civilian and military. That includes rare earths, of which China controls most of the world's mining and processing. It's part of a pressure campaign China launched after Japan's prime minister commented that if China blockades Taiwan, Japan could get involved militarily. To find new sources of rare earths, Japan has literally gone to great depths.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: (Speaking Japanese).
KUHN: Public broadcaster NHK reported last month that a research ship had dredged up mud containing rare earth minerals from the seabed near a remote Japanese island. It's a costly and technically challenging venture, but Japan has other tools in its kit. Its companies are creating new materials to reduce reliance on China.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Our role is to maximize those materials' potential to shape a new future. Proterial.
KUHN: A metals company called Proterial makes magnets for electric vehicle motors, industrial robots and flying taxis. Futoshi Kuniyoshi manages Proterial's magnetic materials department. He says his company has succeeded in making magnets without the rarest rare earths, known as heavy rare earths.
FUTOSHI KUNIYOSHI: (Through interpreter) In terms of pulling power, a magnet the size of a tambourine could lift a 2-ton elephant.
KUHN: Kuniyoshi says using heavy rare earths helps magnets to resist the intense heat of EV motors.
KUNIYOSHI: (Through interpreter) Since heavy rare earths are scarce, we believed that as magnet production increased, we would run out of them. Therefore, we have been conducting R&D on heavy rare earth-free magnets for a long time.
KUHN: Japan got an early wake-up call in 2010 when China restricted rare earth exports over a territorial dispute. Takeshi Higashifukasawa is a senior economist at Mizuho Research & Technologies. He says that Japan's use of substitutes for rare earths is already decreasing its reliance on imports.
TAKESHI HIGASHIFUKASAWA: (Through interpreter) With the increasing number of vehicles like EVs, you'd think the demand would generally increase. But when I looked at import data recently, it turns out it hasn't increased that much.
KUHN: Jane Nakano is an expert on energy security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. She says that Japan's rare earths strategy is shaped by geography. It's an island nation poor in resources.
JANE NAKANO: When you don't have resources, you become much more aware of the fact that the tools that the government has have to be sharpened.
KUHN: She says Japan's rare earths strategy shows both success and limitations.
NAKANO: It's sort of a glass half full or glass half empty. It really shows you, even after 15 years of significant investment in capital and research and active strategic approach, it is really hard to keep reducing dependence on China.
KUHN: The U.S. is trying to replicate and harness Japan's success. The two countries agreed on a framework last October to ensure a stable supply of rare earths. Some specific projects are expected to be announced at tomorrow's summit. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Tokyo.
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