The initiative to extract rare earth elements from the Pacific Ocean seabed has come about as a response to the increasing importance of these elements in technological advancements. Japan is strategically shifting to reduce its reliance on China and plans to start extracting rare earth elements from the Pacific Ocean seabed this year. China has historically used these elements as a geopolitical instrument against major economies like the United States, Japan, and the European Union.
In late 2023, the Japanese government finalized its decision to begin pilot mining operations in the Pacific. However, due to the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a British firm delayed production of “mud-lifting pipes” for Japan for a year. On Dec. 21, the Chinese Communist Party imposed stringent new regulations, banning the export of advanced rare earth magnets and associated technologies to the United States, Japan, and the European Union.
China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Science and Technology expanded the 2020 edition of “Catalogue of Export Prohibited and Restricted Technologies” to include high-tech sectors. This prohibited technologies related to rare earth refining, processing, and utilization.
There were also impending export curbs on gallium and germanium, metals critical to the production of high-end semiconductors, 5G devices, and solar panels. The increased U.S. restrictions on high-tech semiconductor exports to China have led to a deepening technological and industrial divide between the U.S., Japan, and China.
The United States and Japan have ramped up their mining initiatives to establish rare earth supply chains independent of China. Japan’s designated site for trial mining is within its Exclusive Economic Zone, near Minami Torishima island in the Pacific. Research revealed there are rich reserves of rare earth elements within the seabed mud surrounding the island.
The CCP has wielded rare earths as a strategic tool to exert influence over the U.S., Japan, and the European Union. Japan’s potential success in exploiting rare earth deposits in the Pacific seabed could alleviate the global rare earth shortage and diminish China’s leverage over the U.S. and Japan in the rare earth domain.