Dear SSJ Forum members,

We would like to share with you a new NBR interview with Yufan Hao (University of Macau) and Jane Nakano (Center for Strategic and International Studies) about the impact of rare earth elements on energy security in Asia, and more specifically, on the China-Japan relationship. A summary and link to the interview are
below:

"Rare Earth Elements, Asia's Energy Security, and Sino-Japanese Relations"

Interview with Yufan Hao, University of Macau, and Jane Nakano, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Link to Interview: http://m.nbr.org/maDXZj

Summary:

In recent years, the vast majority of rare earth elements--critical resources for clean energy technology and high-tech manufacturing--have been mined in China. Consequently, when China halted rare earth exports to Japan following a fall 2010 confrontation in the East China Sea, many observers asked the question: Was China attempting to gain political and diplomatic leverage over Japan or were its actions based on domestic factors?

To gain greater insight, NBR spoke with Yufan Hao and Jane Nakano, both leading scholars in this debate, Hao and Nakano offer Chinese and Japanese perspectives on the implications of rare earth elements for energy security as well as discuss how China came to dominate the production market for rare earth elements.

"Rare Earth Elements, Asia's Energy Security, and Sino-Japanese Relations"
http://m.nbr.org/maDXZj

Tracy Timmons-Gray
The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) Seattle, WA