SeminarThursday 17 September 2026
6:00pm – 7:00pm
Rare Earths: China’s Dominance and Japan’s Response
13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle (entrance facing Regent's Park), London NW1 4QP
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
Book your placeChina holds a virtual monopoly over the global rare earths market, accounting for nearly 70% of global rare earths output in 2025 and processing almost 90% of them. Since rare earths are crucial components of most technologies, from mobile phones to electric motors, several countries have sounded the alarm about China’s dominance in the market – not least Japan, whose relationship with China has remained strained since Prime Minister Takaichi’s comments last November regarding Taiwan’s security.
In this seminar, Takahiro Kamisuna will explore the history of China’s weaponisation of their monopoly vis-à-vis Japan, Japan’s efforts to secure rare earths, including the recent extraction of rare-earth-rich mud from Minami-Torishima Island, and how it is working with other countries to create alternative rare earths supply chains. He will also discuss potential future developments in the area.
About the contributor
Takahiro (Taka) Kamisuna
Takahiro (Taka) Kamisuna is a Research Associate at the IISS Japan Chair Programme and the 3rd API Matsumoto-Samata Fellow. Taka has been working on geopolitics of critical minerals and green industrialisation in Japan and the Indo-Pacific. Prior to his position at IISS, Taka worked on economic security and Indo-Pacific affairs at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo and the Centre of Geopolitics at Cambridge, as well as infrastructure business for Asian emerging markets at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. He earned his MA at Osaka University (valedictorian), an MSc at the London School of Economics and is currently pursuing a PhD in Development Studies at the University of Cambridge.