日本稀土供给完全依赖国外进口,2006年日本国内混合动力车(HEV)相关需求强劲,同时各相关企业为应对中国出口限制,大量增加库存,稀土进口量大幅增加。2006年日本进口稀土约41964吨,比2005年增长35%,进口额430.6972亿日元(CIF),同比增长76%。表1为2006年日本稀土原料、产品进口量分类情况。从进口国别来看,2006年从中国进口稀土约36072吨,占进口总量的86%, Japan’s rare earth supply is totally dependent on foreign imports. In 2006, HEV related demand in Japan was strong. At the same time, all relevant enterprises increased their inventories by coping with China’s export restrictions and greatly increased their imports of rare earths. In 2006, Japan imported about 41,964 tons of rare earths, an increase of 35% over 2005, with an import volume of ¥ 43,069,772 million (CIF), an increase of 76% over the same period of last year. Table 1 is Japan’s rare earth materials in 2006, imports of products classification. In terms of importing countries, about 36072 tons of rare earths were imported from China in 2006, accounting for 86% of the total imports,