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Mark Burton
For Mark Burton's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Mining magnate Dan Gertler in Congo in 2012
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 20, 2024
China's dominance of EV metals prompts U.S. to revisit stockpile 'panic button'
Budget cuts have shrunk U.S. strategic reserves to record lows, leaving it facing shortages of the raw materials needed to execute an energy transition.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 2, 2022
The next big battery material squeeze is old batteries
Old EV batteries will eventually start rolling in to scrap yards, but recycling companies will have to survive until they do.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 14, 2022
Red-hot lithium boom pits Wall Street against the wonks
Lithium is a vital component of electric-vehicle batteries, which means the outlook for supply, demand and pricing is increasingly consequential.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 6, 2022
Metals industry still buying needed supplies from Russia, for now
Firms are weighing the stigma of war against their own commercial interests and the fact that vital metals like aluminum and copper were in short supply even before the invasion of Ukraine.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2021
The $5 billion hoard of metal the world wants but can’t have
The interest in the aluminum stockpile in Vietnam reflects the metal's watershed moment as an era of oversupply gives way to shortfalls because of Chinese curbs on production.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 1, 2021
Silicon’s 300% surge throws another price shock at the world
One of our most diverse building blocks, silicon is used to make semiconductors, solar panels, medical implants and more. Such a drmatic price spike could shift markets.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?