Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2663 actions· ✨ 89 recent

At the Japan–UK bilateral summit in London on June 14, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued the "Japan–UK Leaders' Joint Declaration on Economic Security Cooperation," committing to deepen collaboration on critical minerals supply-chain diversification (mining, refining, processing, recycling, stockpiling), a focused battery-materials and recycling dialogue, and semiconductor technology cooperation through the Japan–UK Frontier Technology Partnership. The two leaders expressed grave concerns over economic coercion and arbitrary export restrictions on critical minerals and other materials that could affect global supply chains. The declaration preceded and informed the G7 Évian critical-minerals alliance announced three days later on June 17, 2026.

On 1 April 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and President Emmanuel Macron held a Tokyo summit and signed a bilateral roadmap on cooperation in critical minerals — the first formal Japan-France instrument on supply-chain resilience for rare earths and other critical materials. The centrepiece is joint government support for Caremag, a heavy rare-earths refining project in southern France due to begin operations in late 2026, with backing from Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), Iwatani Corporation, and the French government; the project targets approximately 20% of Japan's future demand for dysprosium and terbium (heavy rare-earth oxides used in EV motors, offshore-wind turbines, and electronic components). The two leaders also launched parallel high-level dialogues on dual-use AI, quantum technologies, space (including debris mitigation), cybersecurity, and a joint declaration on startups and innovation, expressing "serious concerns" over export controls on critical minerals and other materials affecting global supply chains — an explicit reference to China's tightening rare-earths export regime.

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Japan's state export-credit and outbound-investment finance institution, signed a loan agreement on 2025-07-25 (announced 2025-09-24) providing GBP 54 million toward a total co-financed package of GBP 90 million (with a private financial institution) for Sumitomo Electric U.K. Power Cables Ltd. (SEUK-CL), the UK subsidiary of Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (Japan). The facility finances SEUK-CL's manufacturing and sale of submarine transmission cables in Scotland. JBIC framed the loan around the UK's offshore-wind buildout (Scotland targets up to 11 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030) and the UK's position as Europe's largest submarine-cable market, alongside Sumitomo Electric's own Mid-Term Management Plan priority of expanding high-voltage direct-current cable capacity in Europe.

On 29 August 2025 Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced a five-part support package for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and suppliers affected by the discontinuation of vehicle production at Nissan's Oppama plant (Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture). The package establishes special consultation windows across Kanagawa financial and business-support institutions, relaxes eligibility for government safety-net loans and loan guarantees for affected firms, extends advisory/matching support to auto-parts suppliers via the "Mikata Project," and grants priority review for affected applicants to two existing subsidy schemes (Monozukuri and New Business Expansion subsidies). No aggregate budget or per-firm monetary cap is disclosed in the primary release.