IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/minecn/v35y2022i1d10.1007_s13563-021-00262-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Japan’s critical metals in the medium term: a quasi-dynamic approach incorporating probability

Author

Listed:
  • Ojiambo N. Malala

    (Akita University)

  • Tsuyoshi Adachi

    (Akita University)

Abstract

Japan has a competitive manufacturing industry that relies significantly on mineral resources, but few studies not initiated by the government exist to help us understand which metals are critical. In other major economies, concerns about the availability of and access to mineral resources have prompted researchers to suggest multiple methods to identify critical materials—mineral resources with high economic importance and a high risk of supply disruption—but the methods proposed so far, though sensible, should be improved. This study proposes a quasi-dynamic approach that incorporates probabilities to measure vulnerability to supply restriction as a way to improve the existing criticality methodologies. The study identifies unique probabilities for absolute price changes for 18 metals and identifies critical metals for Japan for 2000, 2005, 2011, and 2015. The study finds that niobium, molybdenum, rare earths, vanadium, tungsten, and cobalt are critical metals for Japan, and they will remain critical for the medium term (5–10 years). The study also proposes strategies for Japan to secure its supply of these critical metals.

Suggested Citation

  • Ojiambo N. Malala & Tsuyoshi Adachi, 2022. "Japan’s critical metals in the medium term: a quasi-dynamic approach incorporating probability," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 35(1), pages 87-101, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:minecn:v:35:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s13563-021-00262-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s13563-021-00262-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13563-021-00262-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13563-021-00262-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Glöser, Simon & Tercero Espinoza, Luis & Gandenberger, Carsten & Faulstich, Martin, 2015. "Raw material criticality in the context of classical risk assessment," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 35-46.
    2. Kaufmann, Daniel & Kraay, Aart & Mastruzzi, Massimo, 2010. "The worldwide governance indicators : methodology and analytical issues," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5430, The World Bank.
    3. Erin McCullough & Nedal T. Nassar, 2017. "Assessment of critical minerals: updated application of an early-warning screening methodology," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 30(3), pages 257-272, October.
    4. Achzet, Benjamin & Helbig, Christoph, 2013. "How to evaluate raw material supply risks—an overview," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 435-447.
    5. David Humphreys, 2015. "The Remaking of the Mining Industry," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-137-44201-7, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Helbig, Christoph & Bradshaw, Alex M. & Kolotzek, Christoph & Thorenz, Andrea & Tuma, Axel, 2016. "Supply risks associated with CdTe and CIGS thin-film photovoltaics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 422-433.
    2. Kim, Juhan & Lee, Jungbae & Kim, BumChoong & Kim, Jinsoo, 2019. "Raw material criticality assessment with weighted indicators: An application of fuzzy analytic hierarchy process," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 225-233.
    3. Brown, Teresa, 2018. "Measurement of mineral supply diversity and its importance in assessing risk and criticality," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 202-218.
    4. Masoudi, S.M. & Ezzati, E. & Rashidnejad-Omran, N. & Moradzadeh, Ali, 2017. "Geoeconomics of fluorspar as strategic and critical mineral in Iran," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 100-106.
    5. Vidal, Rosario & Alberola-Borràs, Jaume-Adrià & Mora-Seró, Iván, 2020. "Abiotic depletion and the potential risk to the supply of cesium," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Bach, Vanessa & Finogenova, Natalia & Berger, Markus & Winter, Lisa & Finkbeiner, Matthias, 2017. "Enhancing the assessment of critical resource use at the country level with the SCARCE method – Case study of Germany," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 283-299.
    7. Aiman Fadil & Paul Davis & John Geraghty, 2023. "A Mixed-Method Approach to Determine the Successful Factors Affecting the Criticality Level of Intermediate and Final Products on National Basis: A Case Study from Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-29, March.
    8. Jasiński, Dominik & Cinelli, Marco & Dias, Luis C. & Meredith, James & Kirwan, Kerry, 2018. "Assessing supply risks for non-fossil mineral resources via multi-criteria decision analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 150-158.
    9. Dewulf, Jo & Blengini, Gian Andrea & Pennington, David & Nuss, Philip & Nassar, Nedal T., 2016. "Criticality on the international scene: Quo vadis?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 169-176.
    10. Zhou, Na & Wu, Qiaosheng & Hu, Xiangping & Zhu, Yongguang & Su, Hui & Xue, Shuangjiao, 2020. "Synthesized indicator for evaluating security of strategic minerals in China: A case study of lithium," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    11. Hayes, Sarah M. & McCullough, Erin A., 2018. "Critical minerals: A review of elemental trends in comprehensive criticality studies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 192-199.
    12. Pell, Robert S. & Wall, Frances & Yan, Xiaoyu & Bailey, Gwendolyn, 2019. "Applying and advancing the economic resource scarcity potential (ESP) method for rare earth elements," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 472-481.
    13. Yu, Shiwei & Duan, Haoran & Cheng, Jinhua, 2021. "An evaluation of the supply risk for China's strategic metallic mineral resources," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    14. Christine L. Thomas & Nedal T. Nassar & John H. DeYoung, 2022. "Assessing mineral supply concentration from different perspectives through a case study of zinc," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 35(3), pages 607-616, December.
    15. Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio & Calvo, Guiomar & Ortego, Abel, 2018. "Material bottlenecks in the future development of green technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 178-200.
    16. Keisuke Nansai & Kenichi Nakajima & Sangwon Suh & Shigemi Kagawa & Yasushi Kondo & Wataru Takayanagi & Yosuke Shigetomi, 2017. "The role of primary processing in the supply risks of critical metals," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(3), pages 335-356, July.
    17. Helbig, Christoph & Wietschel, Lars & Thorenz, Andrea & Tuma, Axel, 2016. "How to evaluate raw material vulnerability - An overview," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 13-24.
    18. Hatayama, Hiroki & Tahara, Kiyotaka, 2018. "Adopting an objective approach to criticality assessment: Learning from the past," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 96-102.
    19. Luca Ciacci & Philip Nuss & Barbara K. Reck & T. T. Werner & T. E. Graedel, 2016. "Metal Criticality Determination for Australia, the US, and the Planet—Comparing 2008 and 2012 Results," Resources, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-8, September.
    20. Mehmet Maksud Onal & John K. Ashton, 2021. "Is the Journey more Important than the Destination? EU Accession and Corporate Governance and Performance of Banks," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(6), pages 1516-1535, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:minecn:v:35:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s13563-021-00262-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.