Overview
- In Tokyo on Wednesday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and President Emmanuel Macron agreed to design a roadmap to diversify supplies of rare earths and other critical minerals.
- The leaders voiced serious concerns over controls on critical-mineral exports, an implicit reference to China’s tighter rules on materials used in energy, electronics and defense.
- Paris and Tokyo expanded cooperation across defense, nuclear power, space and artificial intelligence, with ministers signing a defense roadmap and agencies backing joint space projects.
- Reporting after the talks pointed to a public‑private heavy rare‑earth refining project in south‑west France by year‑end, alongside Japan’s mining push in Africa to cut China dependence by 2028.
- Macron called for a Middle East ceasefire with secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a priority for Japan which sources about 95% of its oil from the region.