Guilhem Averous, Winner of the FFJ / Christian Polak Prize 2026

On May 20, three young researchers were honored with the FFJ / Christian Polak Prize, a prestigious award that recognizes the best master’s theses on Japan each year.

Biography

A graduate of the École Normale Supérieure de Rennes and a certified teacher of economics and management since 2016, Guilhem Averous obtained a Master’s degree in Japanese Studies from INALCO in 2025. He is now affiliated with the French Research Institute on East Asia (IFRAE – UMR 8043), where he is preparing a doctoral research project on Japan’s economic security policy from a comparative perspective.

Abstract

In September 2010, China imposed an embargo on exports to Japan of its production of rare earth elements—a group of 17 distinct metallic elements (including neodymium, lanthanum, and yttrium) whose properties make them indispensable for the manufacture of the most advanced consumer and defense technologies. This decision, taken in the context of the territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands, had a major impact on Japan, which at the time relied almost entirely on Chinese rare earth production.

This thesis therefore seeks to determine whether Japan implemented a specific strategy to secure its rare earth supply. Drawing on the field of economic security studies, it examines the close interplay between public and private initiatives through a three-pronged approach: short-term diversification of supply sources; medium-term encouragement of stockpiling, recycling, and the development of substitutes; and, in the long term, efforts to achieve greater control over the relevant value chains.

Through the Japanese case, this study sheds light on the mechanisms involved in implementing a comprehensive economic security strategy and contributes to a better understanding of an issue shared by developed market economies.