Haiku in English: May 13, 2025
at the traffic lights
the fog joins me
waiting
--
Lothar M. Kirsch (Kall, German)
Selected by Dhugal J. Lindsay
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Asahi Shimbun
04-06-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
Global alarms rise as China's critical mineral export curbs take hold
Alarm over China's stranglehold on critical minerals grew on Tuesday as global automakers joined their U.S. counterparts to complain that restrictions by China on exports of rare earth alloys, mixtures and magnets could cause production delays and outages without a quick solution. German automakers became the latest to warn that China's export restrictions threaten to shut down production and rattle their local economies, following a similar complaint from an Indian EV maker last week. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets has upended the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. The move underscores China's dominance of the critical mineral industry and is seen as leverage by China in its ongoing trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump has sought to redefine the trading relationship with the U.S.' top economic rival China by imposing steep tariffs on billions of dollars of imported goods in hopes of narrowing a wide trade deficit and bringing back lost manufacturing. Trump imposed tariffs as high as 145% against China only to scale them back after stock, bond and currency markets revolted over the sweeping nature of the levies. China has responded with its own tariffs and is leveraging its dominance in key supply chains to persuade Trump to back down. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to talk this week, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday, and the export ban is expected to be high on the agenda. 'I can assure you that the administration is actively monitoring China's compliance with the Geneva trade agreement,' she said. 'Our administration officials continue to be engaged in correspondence with their Chinese counterparts.' Trump has previously signaled that China's slow pace of easing the critical mineral export ban represents a violation of the Geneva agreement. Shipments of the magnets, essential for assembling everything from cars and drones to robots and missiles, have been halted at many Chinese ports while license applications make their way through the Chinese regulatory system. The suspension has triggered anxiety in corporate boardrooms and nations' capitals - from Tokyo to Washington - as officials scrambled to identify limited alternative options amid fears that production of new automobiles and other items could grind to a halt by summer's end. 'If the situation is not changed quickly, production delays and even production outages can no longer be ruled out,' Hildegard Mueller, head of Germany's auto lobby, told Reuters on Tuesday. Frank Fannon, a minerals industry consultant and former U.S. assistant secretary of state for energy resources during Trump's first term, said the global disruptions are not shocking to those paying attention. 'I don't think anyone should be surprised how this is playing out. We have a production challenge (in the U.S.) and we need to leverage our whole of government approach to secure resources and ramp up domestic capability as soon as possible. The time horizon to do this was yesterday,' Fannon. Diplomats, automakers and other executives from India, Japan and Europe were urgently seeking meetings with Beijing officials to push for faster approval of rare earth magnet exports, sources told Reuters, as shortages threatened to halt global supply chains. A business delegation from Japan will visit Beijing in early June to meet the Ministry of Commerce over the curbs and European diplomats from countries with big auto industries have also sought 'emergency' meetings with Chinese officials in recent weeks, Reuters reported. India, where Bajaj Auto warned that any further delays in securing the supply of rare earth magnets from China could 'seriously impact' electric vehicle production, is organizing a trip for auto executives in the next two to three weeks. In May, the head of the trade group representing General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai and other major automakers raised similar concerns in a letter to the Trump administration. 'Without reliable access to these elements and magnets, automotive suppliers will be unable to produce critical automotive components, including automatic transmissions, throttle bodies, alternators, various motors, sensors, seat belts, speakers, lights, motors, power steering, and cameras,' the Alliance for Automotive Innovation wrote in the letter.
Nikkei Asia
20-05-2025
- Nikkei Asia
Japan's Keyence buys German manufacturing software maker Cadenas
OSAKA -- Japanese robotics company Keyence announced on Tuesday that it has acquired German manufacturing software developer Cadenas Technologies, tapping its ample reserves of cash to develop new businesses domestically and overseas. Cadenas provides manufacturers with parts management databases and other services using three-dimensional computer-aided design, or 3D CAD. Keyence, which sells factory automation equipment like sensors and cameras, expects some synergy with Cadenas.
13-05-2025
German Brands Most Popular with Japanese Drivers of Foreign Cars
US President Donald Trump's recent complaints about Japan's low imports of US cars hit the headlines. One of the key reasons is that US cars are too big for Japan's many narrow roads and parking spaces. Instead, German cars are most popular with Japanese buyers. In 2024, foreign automakers' car sales in Japan fell by 8.5% year-on-year to 227,202 vehicles. Hampered by the situation in the Middle East disrupting maritime shipping and rising product prices, due to soaring raw material costs, this was the first year-on-year decline in two years. By brand, Mercedes-Benz led the way by far with vehicle sales of 53,194. This was the tenth consecutive year Mercedes-Benz ranked top. It was followed by four other German automakers: BMW with 35,140 vehicle sales, Volkswagen with 22,778, Audi with 21,415, and Mini (BMW) with 17,165; Porsche also appeared in eighth place. The only US brand to make the top 10 was Jeep with 9,512. The total sales volume of US car brands (marked in red on the graph) in 2024 was approximately 11,400, or less than a tenth of the 159,500 German brand vehicles sold (marked in blue). German cars have gradually increased their presence in the Japan market since the 1980s, with particular brands becoming established. Although sales of US car brands saw a temporary increase in the mid-1990s, due to a 'foreign car boom' while the yen was high, they have since slowed because of focus shifting to fuel efficiency and a rising trend for environmentally friendly vehicles. (Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: BMW 1 Series (left), Volkswagen Golf (top right), and Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV (bottom right). All images © Jiji.)
