Japan has been quietly blazing a trail for supply chain resilience.
Long before China in early April imposed an export ban on several rare earth elements and magnets widely used in the automotive, robotics and defense sectors, Japan became something of a canary in the coal mine for Beijing’s mineral dominance.
The East Asian country was thrust into panic mode in 2010 when China implemented an export ban on rare earths that specifically targeted Tokyo following a heated territorial dispute.
The embargo only lasted for around two months, but it was enough to incentivize the world’s fourth-largest economy to change its approach to supply chain security.
Alongside stockpiling, recycling and promoting alternative technologies, Japan has since invested heavily into non-China rare-earth projects — notably Australia’s Lynas, the world’s largest rare earth producer outside of China.
