今日吃瓜

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November 12, 2026
 

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RARE EARTHS

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to the media, flanked by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, after two days of meetings with a Chinese delegation in Paris on March 16.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 7, 2026
U.S. urges China to meet rare earths and agriculture commitments ahead of Trump-Xi meetings
Presidents Donald Trump and Xi ?Jinping are expected to meet at two different summits, one in China and one in the U.S.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi holds a press conference after a cabinet reshuffle at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, Japan, September 17, 2026. RIE KIKUCHI/Pool via REUTERS
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Nov 7, 2026
Japan and China shifting toward selective economic dependence
One year into an ongoing political row, the neighbors are continuing to look for new opportunities while cutting risks.
An All Nippon Airways staff member escorts a Chinese tour group from Beijing upon their arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo in August 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 7, 2026
Japan business community working to ease tensions between Tokyo and Beijing
Leading business officials say it is necessary to approach relations from various angles, not just political and diplomatic ones.
An unlicensed mining operation in Toboali, on the southern shores of the island of Bangka, Indonesia, in April 2021
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2026
How to improve global mineral governance
Global South countries should work together to ensure that mineral supply chains deliver equitable economic benefits and protect the environment.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong pose for photographs at a meeting of Quad top diplomats on the sidelines of the Group of 20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 1, 2026
‘Quad’ diplomats express ‘grave concerns’ about economic coercion in veiled jab at China
Economic security was a key feature of the talks, the officials’ third meeting this year, as the grouping gears up for a leaders’ summit this month.
China’s Baotou Rare Earth Industrial Development Zone in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is the country’s only national-level development zone dedicated specifically to the rare-earths industry.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Oct 29, 2026
China’s rare-earth success offers lessons in economic security
Japan and its partners must build alternatives without replicating Beijing’s state-directed model.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz shakes hands with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi before their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2026
Takaichi and Merz pledge to boost economic security and tech cooperation
The leaders expressed “grave concern” over economic coercion, including arbitrary export restrictions and retaliatory measures on critical minerals.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola hold a joint press conference in Strasbourg, France, on Sept. 17.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 28, 2026
From students to space: What’s at stake at EU-Canada summit
Already enjoying a free trade pact and a defense procurement program among other deals, Brussels and Ottawa hope to deepen cooperation in other areas.
TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, has surveyed suppliers on using rare-earth-free motors in factory-automation equipment, according to informed sources.
BUSINESS
Oct 22, 2026
TSMC seeks factory-equipment alternatives to thwart China’s rare earths grip, sources say
Rare-earth magnets are used in motors that power moving parts in industrial equipment, including machinery found in highly automated factories.
China accounts for almost two-thirds of rare earth mining production and 92% of global refined output, according to the International Energy Agency.
BUSINESS
Oct 22, 2026
Supplies of rare earth yttrium have ‘stalled,’ industry ministry official says
The official described a “supply-demand crunch,” with the Financial Times reporting that Tokyo is months away from running out of the critical metal.
A technician handles a wafer on a production line at Dutch semiconductor company Nexperia in Hamburg, Germany, in June 2024.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2026
Tech sovereignty is fantasy. Control over choices is not.
Sovereignty is a tough nut to crack in a deeply interconnected, digital world.
A rare earth open-pit mine in Mountain Pass, California. In retaliation for U.S. President Donald Trump's April 2025 tariffs, China announced a new licensing regime for a handful of critical minerals including yttrium.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2026
U.S., Japanese officials discussed China’s yttrium curbs ahead of Trump-Xi meeting, document shows
Yttrium is a silvery rare earth metal with no easy substitute.
China's near-total control of rare earth minerals such as Gallium and Germanium give Beijing unique leverage against the U.S.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 22, 2026
Rare earths force Trump to be less hostile before Xi summit
The U.S. has so far not threatened to slap steep tariffs on Chinese imports or to ban exports of U.S. technology, in contrast to earlier summits.
Tungsten is a metal that attracts far less attention than rare earths but is no less vital to modern industry.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 19, 2026
How Austria can loosen China’s grip over a key critical mineral
Plansee Group is building one of the West’s most formidable critical minerals operations outside China.
Participants discuss the recycling of key minerals during a joint event between the Japanese and Indian governments held at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2026
Japan and India hold first event focused on recycling of key minerals
The global market for critical minerals, including rare earths, is dominated by China, making it necessary for both Japan and India to rely heavily on imports.
A basin collects polluted water flowing from a former coal mine at West Virginia University's pilot plant in Mount Storm, West Virginia, on Aug. 12.
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2026
In U.S., rare earths extracted from coal mine wastewater
A new pilot project achieves two purposes: environment cleanup and the recovery of the critical minerals as a valuable byproduct.
Satellite view of Minamitorishima, part of the Ogasawara Islands.
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2026
U.S. and Japan plan world’s deepest undersea mine to challenge China
A tiny Japanese island sits astride deep-sea rare earth deposits — ones that could “meet centuries’ worth of industrial demand,” a U.S.-Japan statement said.
U.S. President Donald Trump during an American mining industry roundtable discussion at the State Department in Washington on Friday
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2026
U.S. to invest $3 billion in minerals projects to boost supply chains
Minerals including rare earths, tungsten, germanium and scandium are essential for precision-guided missiles and other advanced weapons.
Crushed ore before it is sent to the mill at the MP Materials rare earth mine in Mountain Pass, California, in 2020
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2026
Trump may need to allow Chinese minerals as U.S. industry struggles to meet 2027 deadline
Partnerships with South Korea and Japan may offer a bridge for manufacturers until U.S. suppliers can ramp up operations.
A large drill is seen on the deep-sea drilling ship Chikyu off the coast of Minamitorishima island, a coral atoll some 1,900 kilometers from Tokyo, in this image released Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2026
Japan identifies large share of rare earths in deep-sea mud off remote island
An analysis of mud from off Minamitorishima island found medium and heavy rare earth elements accounted for about 54% of the total rare earth content.
Man arrested over operation of rogue cellular base station in Tokyo
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Yu Hai, a 31-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo's Kita Ward, on suspicion of operating an unlicensed base station from a vehicle in Tokyo's Ginza district on Saturday.
Government betting on language app powered by anime and AI
Japan plans to develop an AI-powered language-learning app that lets overseas anime and manga fans practice Japanese through conversations with popular characters.
Jensen Huang’s woes evoke sympathy and disbelief in his birthplace Taiwan
Hsiao Kui-yu, 68, owner of Yuchan Candied Fruit, stands in front of photographs of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang displayed at the shop, which Huang frequently visits during trips to Taiwan, in Taipei on Tuesday.
G7 diplomats speak out on Taiwan as China ramps up military drills
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi attends a working lunch focused on international crises and challenges during the Group of Seven foreign ministers' summit at the Quai d'Orsay in Paris on Monday.
今日吃瓜 Rapidus is said likely to miss mass production deadline
The Rapidus Analysis Center and the IIM-1 Innovative Integration for Manufacturing foundry in Chitose, Hokkaido
‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ makes monster debut at the box office
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” marked the highest single-day box-office gross for a live-action film in Japan with ?910 million on its opening day.
A toast to Naohiko Noguchi, sake’s first living national treasure
As a teenager, Naohiko Noguchi did not intend to spend his life as a sake brewer, but he has since become a paragon of the industry.
Few signs of thaw in Japan-China relations one year after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks
Tensions between Japan and China flared after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7, 2025, that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan could threaten 今日吃瓜 survival and warrant the use of collective self-defense.
Mariko Mori predicted the future. She’ll do it again.
Artist Mariko Mori is currently working to bring the translucent human-sized “Peace Crystal” sculpture to a cave in Ethiopia. It is part of her foundation’s goal to place a permanent sculpture on each of the planet’s six habitable continents.
A legend reborn: ‘Ocarina of Time’ remake improves on the Zelda masterpiece
The new remake of 1998's "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" manages to somehow improve on one of the greatest games ever.

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