Japan is embarking on an ambitious effort to retrieve rare earth elements from the ocean floor as it seeks to loosen China’s grip over the metals vital to missiles, radar systems and drones.
A Japanese state-backed expedition announced this month that it had successfully retrieved rare-earth rich mud from a remote Pacific seabed 6,000m deep — deeper than Mount Fuji is tall.
Japan in 2011 discovered resources near Minamitorishima, an atoll 1,900km south-east of Tokyo that is part of the country’s exclusive economic zone. But efforts to extract the elements have gained newfound urgency after China last month announced tighter curbs on exports to Japan, including rare earths.
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