Japan will support Malaysia's rare earth refining with ODA.

The Japanese government will begin providing technical support related to rare-earth mining to Malaysia. The plan is to provide geological prospecting equipment through a government development assistance (ODA) program, and to advance joint work on rare-earth refining technologies that prioritize environmental protection. This effort is intended to help Malaysia, which has abundant rare-earth reserves, build a production base and diversify sources for rare-earth procurement.

This is the first time that Japan and Malaysia have launched technical cooperation in the field of rare-earth mining through ODA. In February, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) dispatched experts in fields such as resource geology and environmental chemistry to Malaysia to help kick off the project.

At present, technical personnel from Japan and Malaysia are communicating and coordinating regarding the project goals. The Japanese side also plans to invite about 10 technical personnel in areas such as mineral processing from Malaysia to undergo training in Japan.

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The Nikkei Inc. merged with the Financial Times in November 2015 to become one media group. The alliance formed by two newspaper companies—Japan and the UK—that were founded in the 19th century as well—is moving forward with extensive collaboration, including joint special features, under the banner of “high-quality, the strongest economic journalism.” This time, as part of that, the two newspapers’ Chinese websites have enabled article exchanges.