For another month, China has kept its shipments of critical rare earth materials to Japan at virtually nothing, with new customs figures showing the diplomatic standoff between the two nations continues to take a serious economic toll.
According to Chinese customs data made public on Monday, China sent zero gallium, dysprosium, terbium, or yttrium to Japan in June. These controlled materials have been severely restricted for several months running.
Japan operates the largest rare earth magnet industry in the world outside of China, but the country depends heavily on Chinese sources for key raw material inputs — a vulnerability now being felt across multiple industries.
The trouble began after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made remarks about Taiwan in November that triggered a diplomatic falling-out with Beijing. In the months that followed, China moved to tighten its grip on exports of these materials.
Beijing rolled out export controls on categories of heavy rare earths and the magnets made from them in April 2025. It then formally tightened restrictions targeting Japan in January, and tightened them again two more times the following month, with major Japanese conglomerates directly in the crosshairs.
Japanese businesses have been sounding the alarm, warning that the lack of access to these critical minerals is beginning to drag on the broader Japanese economy.
China’s ability to control these supply chains has given Beijing one of its most powerful tools in international diplomacy. The issue has even come up in recent negotiations involving U.S. President Donald Trump.
Gallium — a metal essential to chip and magnet manufacturing — had briefly returned to Japan in May with a large shipment, but exports fell back to zero in June. Meanwhile, yttrium, a rare earth used to shield turbine blades in aircraft engines and power plants from intense heat, also saw no shipments to Japan last month.
The U.S., which was also a major recipient of Chinese yttrium before the restrictions took hold, received none of the material for the second consecutive month.
Despite the targeted cutoffs, China’s overall rare earth magnet exports remained robust in June. The country shipped approximately 5,649 metric tons of magnets during the month, up from 4,730 tons in May.
