China is making it easier for Japan to import rare earth metals after a period in which shipments were disrupted, the Japanese trade ministry said yesterday.
A survey showed 16 Japanese firms reported the situation with Chinese customs was getting better, a ministry statement said.
In one case, loading of the minerals has started for shipment from China, Japanese Trade Minister Akihiro Ohata said at a regular government briefing in Tokyo.
“I strongly hope Chinese rare earth exports to Japan will improve to a normal situation,” Ohata said.
China intends to speed up exports of rare earth metals, he said last week, after meeting his Chinese counterpart, Zhang Ping (張平), at the APEC forum in Yokohama, Japan.
Ohata said he expected shipments of the metals used in hybrid cars and radar systems would resume next week.
Japanese officials — including Ohata — said China blocked its exports of the minerals after a Chinese fishing trawler collided with two Japanese Coast Guard boats near islands claimed by both countries. China’s Ministry of Commerce in September denied imposing a ban on exports to Japan.
Japan, the world’s largest rare-earth importer, has stepped up efforts to diversify supply sources, develop substitutes and recycle minerals from used products after Chinese shipments halted in September.
The ministry conducted the survey from Nov. 16 to Nov. 18 among 34 domestic trading firms and rare earth users, without identifying them. Trading houses Sojitz Corp and Sumitomo Corp import most of Japan’s rare earth requirements.
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