TOKYO, Nov 19 (Reuters) - There are signs of improvements in Chinese customs procedures for shipments to Japan of rare earth minerals vital for high-tech products, Japanese Trade Minister Akihiro Ohata told reporters on Friday, nearly two months after exports stalled as a territorial row erupted between Asia's two top economies.
Chinese customs officials imposed broad shipment restrictions on rare earth exports to Japan after it detained a Chinese trawler captain whose vessel collided with Japanese patrol boats near disputed islands in the East China Sea in September.
The captain was later released and sent home but bilateral tensions remained. The two countries' leaders, however, signalled that a thaw might be in store at a summit on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific leaders' gathering in Japan last weekend. (Editing by Joseph Radford)