On June 16, Senior Fellow Hikaru Hiranuma visited the Embassy of Denmark in Tokyo, where he exchanged views with Danish Ambassador to Japan Jarl Frijs-Madsen on the global landscape and policy issues surrounding rare earths. The exchange came about after the Ambassador expressed interest in Hiranuma's policy proposal, "A 13 Trillion Yen Treasure Trove: A Proposal for Active Utilization." 

The discussion also touched on efforts by the Takaichi administration to secure critical resources from the perspective of economic security. In response, Hiranuma shared his view that utilizing domestically accumulated waste (urban mining) as a homegrown resource is key to ending Japan's dependence on overseas sources for rare earths and other critical minerals.