Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers questions at a budget committee session of the House of Councillors in Parliament in Tokyo on March 16, 2026. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday she would discuss joint development with the United States of deep sea rare earths off a remote Pacific island when she meets President Donald Trump this week.
Tokyo last month succeeded in retrieving sediment containing rare earths — 17 metals used in everything from electric vehicles to hard drives and missiles — from ocean depths of 6,000 meters (about 20,000 feet) on a test mission close to Minamitorishima island.
Japan and the United States, as well as many other countries, are seeking to curb dependence on China for the valuable minerals.
"We discussed resources development when President Trump visited Japan in October last year, and since February Japan and the United States have begun concrete discussions on cooperating regarding development of marine mineral resources," Takaichi told parliament.
"The rare earths in waters around Minamitorishima are one of the targets of this effort... I expect it will also be taken up in the upcoming Japan-U.S. summit meeting," scheduled for today, she added.
"We will be discussing the specifics of what such cooperation should look like."
The sediment containing rare earths was collected by a deep-sea scientific drilling boat called the Chikyu that set sail in January for Minamitorishima, where surrounding waters are believed to contain a trove of valuable minerals.
The mission came as Beijing ramped up pressure on Japan after Takaichi suggested in November that Tokyo may react militarily to an attack on Taiwan, which China has vowed to seize control of by force if necessary.
It blocked exports to Japan of "dual-use" items with potential military uses, fuelling worries in Japan that Beijing could choke supplies of rare earths.
