On Friday, January 9th, Japanese Finance Minister Kanzuki Tanzan stated that Japan should cooperate with the United States and Europe to establish a rare earth supply chain to prevent Beijing from turning key minerals into economic “weapons”.
During an interview with Nikkei News on Friday, Minister Tanzan expressed her views, saying, “We hope to establish a rare earth market in which true democracies and market economies participate together.” The interview is scheduled to be broadcast next Tuesday.
Tanzan also advised Japanese manufacturing industries to gradually reduce their reliance on Chinese rare earth minerals.
She warned that if Japan does not sever the monopolistic and weaponization grip of the Chinese authorities, it may face “continual threats in areas unrelated to security” in the future.
“The survival prospects of businesses will become increasingly unpredictable, eventually facing the brink of crisis,” she added.
Tanzan is set to visit the United States from January 11th to 14th to attend the G7 Finance Ministers meeting.
The theme of this G7 Finance Ministers meeting is “Stable Supply of Strategic Minerals.” Participating countries include G7 members and resource-rich countries like Chile, aiming to discuss how to establish a supply chain system independent of China, addressing China’s high market share in essential mineral sectors such as rare earths.
On the 6th, China suddenly announced strengthened export controls on “dual-use goods” to Japan, without specifying detailed regulations. It is believed by observers that rare earths may once again be included in the controlled items.
According to reports from Japanese media, Tanzan stated that China’s move could have a significant impact on global supply chains, and Japan has strongly protested to China.
During the G7 Finance Ministers meeting in December 2025, consensus was reached on enhancing cooperation to ensure the stability of critical mineral supply chains.
Tanzan pointed out that one of the focuses of the Finance Ministers meeting would be to strengthen the global resilience of critical minerals supply networks, avoiding the monopolization of resources by specific countries and preventing resources from being used as political or diplomatic tools.
Tanzan mentioned that after a collision between a Japanese Coast Guard patrol ship and Chinese fishing vessels in waters near the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands) in 2010, Japan faced restrictions on rare earth exports from Beijing.
She expressed, “Japan was once a target of export restrictions and has experience in this regard, so we hope to share concrete measures with other G7 countries to diversify sources of supply and reduce reliance on China.”