The initiative, led by a government-backed project, aims to reduce reliance on imports and strengthen national security.

TOKYO: Japan will from January attempt to extract rare earth minerals from the ocean floor in the deepest trial of its kind, ...

The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science ...

While rich mineral deposits promise centuries of supply, critics argue Japan’s deep-ocean venture risks an irreversible ‘race to the bottom’.

When China began its crackdown on the sector some fifteen years ago, there were hundreds of miners and processors. By 2013 ...

Japan will begin test mining for rare-earth-rich mud from the deep seabed off Minamitori Island, some 1,900 kilometres (1,180 ...

Japan will conduct the first deep-sea trial to extract rare earth minerals from 5,500 meters below the ocean surface near Minami Torishima, aiming to test mining equipment rather than maximize yield.