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Julian Ryall

Japan’s quest for rare earth self-sufficiency and its drive to decouple from Chinese supply chains have prompted the government to consider building a dedicated deep-sea mining vessel to recover minerals from the Pacific Ocean floor.
Local media reported that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s special committee on ocean development will soon present a draft proposal to the Takaichi administration, calling for unspecified project funding.
While the initiative will face technological and financial hurdles, analysts say developing the natural resources within Japan’s maritime exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is crucial to the country’s economy and national security.
“Japan is very poor in natural resources, but we have the sixth-largest EEZ in the world and under all that ocean is a great deal of the resources that we need to power our economy,” said Morinosuke Kawaguchi, a futurist and innovation expert.
“These minerals are so rare that it is important to develop ways to exploit these resources.”


Tokyo’s urgency to cut its dependence on imported strategic minerals led the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology to deploy a research ship in February to the remote island of Minamitorishima to retrieve rare earth sediments from a depth of 5,700 metres (18,700 feet).
The island, about 1,950km (1,211 miles) southeast of Tokyo, is the easternmost part of Japan.
Japan also plans to expand the extraction mission next year in a bid to scoop up 350 tonnes of seabed sediment per day.
China leads the world in the mining and refining of rare earths which are used in everything from missiles and aircraft engines to electronics and electric vehicle motors.
Beijing previously weaponised its control over critical minerals by restricting exports to Tokyo after its neighbour nationalised the disputed Diaoyu Islands, known in Japan as the Senkakus, in 2012.
It implemented the measure again this year in retaliation against Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi over comments about Taiwan she made last November in the Diet.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. While many nations, including the US, do not officially acknowledge Taiwan as an independent state, they oppose any use of force to alter the existing status quo.
Experts said financial backing from the government was pivotal to get the shipbuilding project rolling before the private sector could chip in.
“At this point, it has to be a government initiative because we have to find out whether this is commercially viable before private companies can come in,” said Kawaguchi, who is also the founder of Tokyo-based management and design consultancy Morinosuke Company.
“But we also have to realise that this is not just about being able to commercially use these deposits; this is a matter of national security and Tokyo is playing this as a serious political card,” he said, adding that the government’s support for the new vessel would ensure its success.

However, Japan’s rare earth self-sufficiency push faces three “hurdles”, according to Yuki Kobayashi, a senior research fellow specialising in energy and resources policy at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Tokyo.
They include creating eco-friendly refining processes, shunning chemical-dependent systems and devising cost-effective extraction methods.
In an article published by Nippon.com, Kobayashi also warned of another challenge: “the threat of interference from China”, pointing out that the aircraft carrier Liaoning entered Japan’s EEZ southwest of Minamitorishima “quite possibly with the aim of deterring Japan’s [rare earth] exploration efforts”.
He added that if Beijing felt it was losing its monopoly on rare earths, the country could further reduce exports of minerals to Japanese companies to hinder their projects.
“China is not going to be keen to see Japan make this kind of progress and they have made that clear in the way they have played their rare earths card with both Japan and the US,” said Stephen Nagy, a professor of international relations at Tokyo’s International Christian University.

“China has weaponised rare earths, but that is in decline as more countries come together to put deals on the table to acquire and process rare earths to get around China,” he said.
He said that Japan’s rare earth ambitions could also make it “an indispensable partner to the US and the rest of the international community as a reliable supplier”.
“These minerals will not only be used by Japanese industry, they will be used to tighten alliances and I think it is no coincidence that this news is emerging while [US President Donald] Trump is in Beijing.”
By positioning itself as an alternative supplier, Tokyo’s message to Trump was that “he does not need to sell the house” to Chinese President Xi Jinping to guarantee access for US firms to rare earths, according to Nagy.


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Tokyo also aims to become a major global supplier despite the project facing technological, cost and geopolitical hurdles


Tokyo also aims to become a major global supplier despite the project facing technological, cost and geopolitical hurdles.


Japan eyes dedicated ship to lead deep-sea rare earths race, cut reliance on China

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tokyo also aims to become a major global supplier despite the project facing technological, cost and geopolitical hurdles

Tokyo also aims to become a major global supplier despite the project facing technological, cost and geopolitical hurdles