Japan steps up deep-sea mining plan to cut rare-earth dependence

JAPAN / FOCUS

Japan steps up deep-sea mining plan to cut rare-earth dependence

The Chikyu, the deep sea drilling vessel operated by the Japan Agency for Marine Earth-Science and Technology, has been on a mission to pull metal-bearing mud from the seabed. | Getty Images / via Bloomberg

By Yusuke Maekawa and Annie Lee
BLOOMBERG

Feb 12, 2026

Japan is accelerating a decade-old plan to extract rare earths from the deep seabed, an ambitious initiative given extra impetus by the country’s drive to cut reliance on Chinese supply.

A state-owned vessel is scheduled to return to port this month after fitting equipment below the surface of Japanese waters, near a coral atoll 2,000 kilometers from Tokyo. The aim is to pull metal-bearing mud from the seabed for tests as early as February 2027, according to the government body running the project.

“It’s about economic security,” said Shoichi Ishii, program director for 91AV原创 National Platform for Innovative Ocean Developments. “The country needs to secure a supply chain of rare earths. However expensive they may be, the industry needs them.”