Japan Leans More on China for Rare Earths Despite Lower Imports

Japan’s reliance on China for rare earths increased last month, despite a reduction in volumes purchased from the world’s dominant producer.

China supplied around 76% of the rare earths imported by Japan in January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from Japanese customs figures. This was 3.4 percentage points more than the proportion for the same month a year earlier, as imports from other nations fell.