Two days ago the Government of Saskatchewan has signed a...

Two days ago the Government of Saskatchewan has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with the President of Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation (JOIN). "This marks a positive step forward for Saskatchewan's relationship with Japan," Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison said. "We have key resources that the world needs, and this is proof that international investors are interested in what we have to offer. The more investments made in our province, the more jobs and economic growth we can look forward to." This agreement is very significant for VML because Japan is considered to have the best technology for processing rare earths into noncorrosive permanent magnets.

China acquired much of their technology to process rare earths into noncorrosive permanent magnets from Japan, whose government has since recognised their failure to prevent the outflow of their manufacturing technology. Japan now has much stricter and more broad reaching controls on this technology and there are still several magnet manufacturers in Japan, including TDK Corp. and Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., which hold about 15% of the global magnet manufacturing market.

https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2023/april/24/saskatchewan-strengthens-economic-ties-with-japan-signing-new-memorandum-of-cooperation#InvestSK