China weaponizes rare earths again and Japan’s 2010 trauma becomes the world’s warning

TOKYO: When China announced sweeping export controls on rare earths this year, the reaction was immediate and anxious. Policymakers in Washington, Brussels and beyond scrambled to assess the damage. These little-known minerals sit at the heart of modern life—powering electric vehicles, smartphones and advanced weapons—and overnight they became a geopolitical flashpoint. In Japan, though, the […]