Japan, Vietnam to Jointly Develop Rare Earths

Tokyo, Oct. 22 (Jiji Press)--Japan is set to agree with Vietnam on
joint development of rare earth elements in the Southeast Asian country in
an effort to correct its heavy dependence on China, it was learned Friday.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his Vietnamese counterpart,
Nguyen Tan Dung, are expected to reach an accord on the matter at their
meeting to be held in Hanoi on Oct. 31, the sources said.
Kan will visit the Vietnamese capital from Oct. 28 to attend
meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Northern parts of Vietnam are believed to have untapped reserves of
rare earth elements, such as cerium and dysprosium, that are indispensable
for the manufacturing of high-tech products like liquid crystal displays as
well as motors for hybrid vehicles.
For the envisaged joint rare earth development, Japan plans to
provide its exploration and smelting technologies to Vietnam, the sources
said.
While China accounts for some 90 pct of global rare earth
production, Japan-bound exports of such minerals from the country have been
stalled as the bilateral ties deteriorated after the collision between a
Chinese trawler and Japanese patrol ships near disputed islands in the East
China Sea last month.
At the coming bilateral summit, Kan and Dung are also expected to
confirm Japan-Vietnam cooperation in the construction of nuclear power
plants, a high-speed train system and other infrastructure facilities in
Vietnam.