en.Wedoany.com Reported - Canada and Japan are collaborating on a series of mining projects, including exploring the establishment of a joint mineral reserve, to help Japan diversify its supply of critical minerals and reduce its reliance on China, Canada's International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told Reuters.

Sidhu said the cooperation options under discussion between Ottawa and Tokyo include joint mining projects, offtake agreements, and reserve arrangements for minerals such as graphite and gallium. "We are offering Japan a pathway to strengthen cooperation with Canada in the critical minerals sector," he said, citing an offtake agreement between Nouveau Monde Graphite and Panasonic for graphite, a key material for batteries, as an example of collaboration.

Sidhu is leading a Canadian trade delegation in Tokyo, comprising about 300 members from nearly 180 companies and organizations, the largest such delegation from a North American country in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan and Western governments and manufacturers have been working to secure supplies of rare earth minerals to reduce dependence on China, the world's largest producer and supplier of rare earths.

In February, China banned the export of so-called dual-use items to 20 Japanese entities, claiming they supplied goods to the Japanese military. This followed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's statement that Tokyo would take action if China launched an attack on Taiwan, which drew a strong reaction from Beijing.

Sidhu's visit to Japan also focuses on broader energy cooperation. Companies he has met so far include Mitsubishi Corp, which he said is "very interested in increasing investment in Canada." Mitsubishi is a major investor in the LNG Canada project in Kitimat, British Columbia, the first major liquefied natural gas facility in North America with direct access to the Pacific coast.

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