Join us for the third of our lunchtime ‘fireside’ chat series on critical materials, where we’ll explore the approach Japan has taken to accelerating progress toward critical material circularity.

Japan is one of the few countries which has made demonstrable progress toward creating a diversified and resilient supply chain. Our panel will explore how the nation has invested in training and skill building, the role of government intervention in prioritizing recycling, and of international cooperation and collaboration, as well as look at challenges and lessons other nations can learn in their own drives toward circularity.

This event will be streamed live within the Critical Materials Standards Hub – to join, simply go to the event webpage.  You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions of the panel during the discussion as well.

This discussion will be recorded and made available for playback immediately in the Critical Materials Standards Hub.

Our panel:

Kotaro Shimizu, Chief Analyst and Head of Economic and Industrial Policy Unit, Policy Research and Consulting Division,  Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co.

In addition to his role at Mitsubishi UJF, Kotaro is Vice President of the International Rare Earth Industry Association, Executive Director of the Circular Economy Association, and Secretary to the committee of the comprehensive system of resource utilization of the Mining and Materials Processing Institute of Japan.  

He has contributed his expertise on several ISO committees, including ISO/TC 298 Rare Earths, ISO/TC 323 Circular Economy, ISO/TC 333 (Lithium), ISO/TC207/SC5 Life cycle assessment – TC323/JWG14 Secondary materials, and on ISO/TMB/SAG Critical Materials through June 2023.  

He holds a PHD from the Department of Earth Sciences, Resources, and Environmental Engineering at Waseda University, Japan. He is a lecturer at the International Institute for Mining Technology in Japan, the endowed chair of global business management and Economic and social policies at Chuo University and has been an invited researcher at the Environmental Research Institute at Waseda University.

Gareth Hatch, Founder, Strategic Materials Advisory Ltd. 

Gareth Hatch is founder of UK-based Strategic Materials Advisory, a consulting and advisory firm operating in the critical-raw-materials sector. He was co-founder of USA-based Technology Metals Research, co-founder of Canada-based Innovation Metals Corp. and was previously Director of Technology at USA-based Dexter Magnetic Technologies, where he began his career focused on rare-earth permanent-magnet design and engineering. He is a named co-inventor on five US patents on magnetic applications.

Gareth is the Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor of Critical Minerals and Materials, at the University of Birmingham. He is a member of the UK ISO TC/298 Mirror Committee, working to develop international standards for the rare-earth industry, and is a Strategic Advisor to the Belgium-based Rare Earth Industry Association.

Gareth is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining and is a Chartered Engineer. He holds a B.Eng. (Honours) degree in materials science & technology and a Ph.D. in metallurgy & materials, both from the University of Birmingham, where he conducted postgraduate research focused on rare-earth permanent-magnet alloys.