Why Is Japan Digging The Ocean Floor At 6 Km Depth; Is China’s Rare Earth Monopoly Faces Its Biggest Threat? | World News

Japan Deep Sea Mining: Japan is preparing to extract rare earth elements from deep-sea mud by 2027 to reduce its dependence on China and strengthen domestic supply chains. The plan involves drilling about 6,000 meters below the ocean surface, lifting mud from the seabed and transporting it to the mainland for processing.

Rare earth minerals have become the backbone of modern life. From electric vehicles to advanced weapons, from semiconductors to cutting-edge electronics, these elements are at the heart of today’s most strategic industries. As demand increases, so do tensions over who will control supply.

Due to China’s dominant position, countries around the world are looking for alternatives. Japan has now placed a bet below the ocean floor.

Tokyo has drawn up a plan to extract rare earth elements from deep-sea mud by 2027. The aim is to reduce dependence on China and secure a stable, domestic supply of manufacturing for the industries that power Japan’s economy.

According to Nikkei Asia, Japan is targeting seabed deposits located about 6,000 meters below sea level. The process will involve lifting the mud from the ocean floor and transporting it to the mainland where valuable minerals will be separated and refined.

Tokyo’s focus is particularly on elements such as dysprosium, a critical component used in automobiles and high-tech manufacturing. This is very important for a country whose automobile industry is among the largest in the world. Brands such as Toyota, Honda, Suzuki and Nissan rely on uninterrupted access to rare earth materials to keep their production lines running and remain competitive globally.

The urgency behind this strategy can be traced back to a moment of reckoning in 2010. During the Senkaku Islands dispute, China stopped shipments of rare earth elements to Japan.

The move revealed how vulnerable Tokyo has become to supply disruptions. Since then, Japan has sought to diversify its resources. It has managed to reduce its dependence on China by roughly a third over the past decade.

Beijing controls about 70 percent of the world’s rare earth supply and nearly 90 percent of its refining capacity. To loosen this control, Tokyo invested in Australian mining company Lynas, providing long-term access to rare earths outside China’s control. According to this arrangement, mining is carried out in Australia and refining is carried out in a facility in Malaysia.

Until recently, this facility was the only major rare earth separation facility operating outside of China, according to The New York Times.

Now Japan is pushing the frontier even further, deeper into the ocean. Under the Strategic Innovation Incentive Program (SIP), a special facility will be established on Minamitorishima, an island in the Ogasawara island chain. Here, mud lifted from the seabed will undergo initial separation before being shipped to mainland Japan for final processing.

Nikkei Asia reported that trial mining could begin as early as January-February 2026. At this stage, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology will deploy a deep-sea research vessel. Small amounts of seafloor mud will be brought to the surface using pipes to test the feasibility of the process.

A full-scale demonstration of the project is planned for February 2027. At Minamitorishima, approximately 80 percent of the water will be extracted from the mined mud. The remaining material will then be transported by ship to mainland Japan, where rare earth metals will be produced.

SIP Director Shoichi Ishii said the aim of the project was to successfully demonstrate the entire extraction process and evaluate whether it makes economic sense on a large scale. Nikkei Asia says Japan has allocated about 16.4 billion yen (about $105 million) for the project.

Experts believe that if Japan is successful, the impact could extend far beyond its shores. A viable deep-sea rare earth resource would strengthen Tokyo’s strategic independence and could shift the balance of power in the global rare earth market, long dominated by China.