Japan hopes to boost ties with African countries so it can secure supplies of much-needed rare metals and energy resources, amid heated competition with China and other emerging economies, trade minister Akira Amari said.

Amari, 58, who was reappointed minister of economy, trade and industry in the Aug. 27 Cabinet reshuffle, said he hopes to visit South Africa and Madagascar by the end of the year.

"As Japan has few resources, we need to secure stable supplies" by strengthening diplomatic ties with resource-rich countries, Amari said in a recent interview.

He also said Japan can advise African states on industrial policies and help them develop.

Amari's African overture comes as growing global demand for rare metals is driving up their prices.

Rare metals are used in digital home electric appliances and autos. South Africa has rich reserves of chrome, manganese and vanadium to be used in heat-resistant alloys, while Madagascar is abundant with nickel and cobalt, key materials for mobile phone batteries.

Uranium is another battle front. Amid strong global demand, due partly to construction of major nuclear power stations in the United States and China, Amari in April visited Kazakhstan, which holds the world's second-largest uranium reserves, after Australia.

Kazakhstan is believed to be one of the emerging economies following the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China).

Japan's top energy industry officials accompanied Amari and signed agreements to secure enough uranium to keep firing up domestic reactors.

But this week, trouble occurred in Kazakhstan that could affect Japan's oil and gas supplies. The country Monday ordered Eni, an Italian oil and gas corporation, to halt work on the huge Kashagan oil field due to an environmental violation. Japan's biggest oil and gas explorer, Inpex Holdings Inc., holds an 8.3 percent stake in the project.

Amari said his ministry is investigating the situation and stressed that the credibility in the implementation of contracts is what matters most in economic deals.

His reappointment also came at a time when Tokyo Electric Power Co., which supplies electricity to Tokyo and its neighboring eight prefectures, faces a supply crunch caused by the lingering summer heat wave and the closure of its quake-hit Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture.

In emergency measures in late August, Tepco asked some large-lot customers to curb their power usage, as the utility's supply capacity came close to its limit.

Amari did not provide any specific timetable for restarting the suspended Niigata plant, which has been hit by revelations of Tepco's mismanagement following the July 16 quake.

"Inspection is ongoing and we will allow the plant's operations to start when we make sure that those units have no problems," he said. But full inspections of the plant, including those of damaged reactors, have not even begun.

On the trade front, there is growing concern that South Korea is becoming an imminent threat to Tokyo.

The country competes globally with Japan, especially in autos and electronics goods. Seoul reached a free-trade agreement with the United States in April.

South Korea also started talks on a possible FTA with the European Union in May. Japanese firms fear they will be put at a disadvantage if the EU abolishes tariffs on South Korean imports.

Asked if Japan should conclude an FTA with the EU and the U.S., Amari said the issue is "unavoidable" and noted an EU-South Korea FTA would pose a "threat" to Japan.

During a news conference Aug 27 following the Cabinet reshuffle, Amari noted that FTAs could harm certain groups of people.

"Not all is good about an FTA. The impact is big. We need to minimize the pain by concluding an FTA," he said, apparently defending Tokyo's protectionist farm trade.