Japan to cut dependence on China rare earth-Nikkei

TOKYO Feb 25 (Reuters) - The Japanese government and private companies will invest 110 billion yen ($1.34 billion) aiming to cut the nation's dependence on rare-earth imports from China by a third, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday.

Japan's trade ministry will give 33.1 billion yen in subsidies to 160 projects by 110 companies as a first step, aiming to cut the nation's use of Chinese rare earth metals by about about a third from the current 30,000 tonnes a year, the paper said. ($1=81.89 Yen) (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Edmund Klamann)