Yamagami Shingo, who assumed the post of Ambassador of Japan to Australia in December 2020, said Japan also had first-hand experience of China’s economic coercion 12 years ago, when the communist regime restricted exports of rare earth metals that were crucial for Japan’s high-tech industries.
He noted that following China’s rare earth exports ban, Japan searched for alternative sources and was able to reduced its dependence on Chinese suppliers from around 90 percent to 60 percent of its imports.
The move has, in turn, strengthened the economic relationship between Japan and Australia, as it involved the development of Western Australia’s Mount Weld mine that is operated by local mining company Lynas Corporation.
“And this is, I think, exactly something that our friends in Australia are learning throughout the recent lessons of wine or coal or barley, timber, lobster… all those products which have been subjected to economic coercion.”
“Certainly, we would like to reduce our dependency more, and in that regard, any help coming from Australia would be more than welcome.”
“If you are a student of history, throughout human history, eyes of doubt and suspicion have been cast upon the development of, for example, steel, oil, coal, LNG, whatever,” he noted.
“I firmly believe that hydrogen is the future. This is not in abstract terms, it’s in concrete terms.”
His comment comes as Australia continues to diversify its trading partners and decouple from China. On Thursday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison praised a “historic” trade deal with India as being good for producers of seafood, wine, and other produce and resources as the country inks a deal.“This is great news for lobster fishers in Tasmania, wine producers in South Australia, macadamia farmers in Queensland, critical minerals miners in Western Australia,” Morrison said.
