Japan, Kazakhstan to develop rare earth metals: media

Japan and Kazakhstan plan to sign an agreement to jointly develop rare earth metals critical to electronics and auto makers, aiming to lower dependence on China, the Asahi Shimbun daily said on Saturday. ...

Japan will jointly develop rare earths with Kazakhstan as part of its efforts to secure supplies of the key minerals now controlled by China, according to a newspaper.Japan plans to reach an accord when trade and industry minister Yukio Edano visits the central Asian country in early May and meets Kazakh government officials, including President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Asahi Shimbun reported.

China has limited exports of so-called rare earth elements for years, frustrating foreign trade partners who want to access the metals used to make everything from cell phones to weapons systems.  

ETF Database submits: Interest in hard assets as an investment opportunity has surged in recent years, thanks in large part to the introduction of several ETFs that allow investors easy access to a diversified basket of companies engaged in the extraction and production of various commodities. Funds investing in gold miners, silver miners, and lithium production have popped up, each attracting significant cash inflows from investors.

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev formally agreed on Friday to run for re-election in snap polls he called earlier this month where he is almost certain to win another five-year term."I agree to stand in polls for the post of president of Kazakhstan," he said at a congress of the ruling party Nur Otan, where he was officially invited to run in the April 3 presidential election.Nazarbayev earlier issued a decree to conduct the polls following the passage of a constitutional amendment.