TOKYO -- Group of Seven major economies are bolstering cooperation on urban mining, a process that turns electronic waste into a source of rare-earth elements and other industrially important rare metals as they seek to reduce dependence on major producers like China.
During a trip to Washington in January, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's minister for economy, trade and industry, called for a new "network" for recycling rare metals with U.S. and Europe. Japan aims to set up a working group to promote cooperation on extracting the materials when it hosts the G-7 summit in May.
