Reference News website, February 24 report: According to a report from Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" website on February 23, Japan is embarking on an ambitious plan to extract rare earth elements from the seabed.
Japan recently announced that it has collected sediment containing rare earth elements from the seafloor about 6,000 meters deep near the Ogasawara Islands. The Ogasawara Islands are approximately 1,900 kilometers southeast of Tokyo's city center.
In 2011, Japan discovered rare earth resources near the Ogasawara Islands. Japan is the second-largest consumer of rare earths in the world after China.
Japanese government officials pointed out that the rare earths from the Ogasawara Islands could be an option for future supply, potentially becoming a source of procurement after March 2028 and contributing to the supply chain.
Japanese Prime Minister Hashimoto Sanae recently told local media that she plans to ask the United States to participate in the Ogasawara Islands mining project during her meeting with U.S. President Trump in March, and to accelerate the project's progress.
However, experts have questioned that the costs of commercial deep-sea mining along with technical challenges may offset its advantages in low radioactivity or heavy rare earth combinations. Environmentalists also worry about the impact on the marine ecosystem.
Analysis suggests that even if large-scale mining starts at the Ogasawara Islands, it is unlikely to quickly come into production to address short-term supply shortages.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/7610299946177053203/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.