Japan firms seen ‘stockpiling’ rare earths as Tokyo looks to G7 in face of China controls

Fears of China choking off exports of critical minerals to Japan amid a deepening political dispute have set off industry alarms and prompted Tokyo to elevate the issue at a G7 gathering of finance ministers this week, despite Beijing’s assurances that civilian trade would be spared.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said last week that she would attend the Group of Seven event in Washington on Monday with the “risk of a rare-earth-supply interruption from China in mind”, the…