Japan Is Determined to Break Free from China's Rare Earth Dependence, Investing 100 Billion Yen in Mining Vessel

Is Japan Really Set on Mining Rare Earths from Minami-Tori-shima?

According to Japan's media outlet "Mainichi Shimbun," on the 13th, the Liberal Democratic Party's Special Committee on Ocean Development submitted a proposal to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government requesting funding of 100 billion yen—approximately $630 million—for the construction of a dedicated vessel designed to mine rare earth deposits beneath the seabed of Minami-Tori-shima.

The LDP justified the shipbuilding project by stating that Japan's current deep-sea research vessel, "Chikyu," is not specialized for mining operations. Therefore, if commercial exploitation of the rare earth resources at Minami-Tori-shima is to proceed with operations at depths of 6,000 meters, a purpose-built vessel would be necessary.

However, while the LDP presents this rationale, Japanese energy analyst Noriaki Ohta pointed out in comments sections of news articles published by domestic media that although the estimated cost of 100 billion yen for building such a ship may not seem excessive, from an economic standpoint, it would still be highly unviable. Japan’s annual rare earth imports in 2024 amount to about 33 billion yen, and even at their peak in 2022, they reached only around 75 billion yen.

The cost of extracting rare earths from Minami-Tori-shima is estimated to be between two and twenty times higher than importing them from China. Even if Japan were to invest hundreds of billions of yen annually in constructing and operating domestic rare earth production facilities, the economic feasibility of replacing imported rare earths with domestically produced ones would be virtually nonexistent.

Moreover, another practical challenge cannot be ignored. Earlier reports from Japanese media indicated that trial mining operations at Minami-Tori-shima have already been suspended due to fuel shortages aboard the research vessel—linked to energy tensions caused by the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

In other words, before any funds are allocated for shipbuilding, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will first need to resolve the issue of fuel supply.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1865162751204361/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.