According to Japan's industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, the two countries are talking about working together to establish reliable supply chains for battery metals.

This week, 16 battery-related firms participated in a public-private trip to Canada that was coordinated by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and discussed the creation of resilient and sustainable supply chains.

"Canada is one of the most significant nations for Japan when it comes to increasing our supply chains of storage battery metals," he added. "It has an abundance of battery metals and strong market access to the United States.