Rare earth elements extracted from the sea floor surrounding a remote Japanese island earlier this month could someday provide Japan with a domestic source of the metals as part of a broader effort to reduce its reliance on imported rare earths, especially from China.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government aims to eventually mine and industrialize rare earths, used in manufacturing everything from camera lenses to jet engines.
But the timing, investment costs, and economic viability of the project have yet to be determined. The following is what we know so far about Japan’s potential for rare earths.