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, ...

Japan's lucrative $26 billion deep-sea find could be rendered worthless after a technological breakthrough. A survey by The Nippon Foundation and the University of Tokyo found a field of dense ...

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’.

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.