Associated Press: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan says Vietnam has chosen Japan as a partner to mine rare earth metals and help build the Communist country’s second nuclear power plant. Kan told reporters Sunday that Vietnam selected Japan for both projects during a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Tan Dung, in Hanoi. Japan earlier this month announced plans to begin mining in Vietnam for rare earth metals used in high-tech manufacturing, in a bid to reduce its dependence on China. China…