A Japanese deep-sea mining ship has set off on a mission to conduct the world’s first ever extraction of “rare earth mud” from the ocean floor. According to Reuters, the Chikyu departed from Shimizu Port in Shizuoka, Japan on January 12 and is heading to a coral atoll roughly 1,200 miles southeast of Tokyo. The drilling vessel is backed by Japanese government funding and will spend a month collecting rare earth sludge along a four-mile-deep seabed.
The site targeted by the Chikyu is believed to be rich in elements that can be used in the production of electric vehicles, smartphones, military equipment and wind turbine generators. Japan’s need for alternative rare earth sources outside China has grown substantially in recent months, with China banning all dual-use exports to Japan in early January and restricting certain rare earth exports to Japanese companies days later.
All of this came in the wake of comments made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in November 2025, when she said that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would threaten Japan’s survival. The mission marks Japan’s first attempt to mine rare earth elements domestically. Environmental advocates, however, have warned that deep-sea drilling could cause “irreversible harm” to ocean ecosystems, with 37 countries calling for a moratorium on the practice in July 2025.
From a supply chain perspective, the project — carried out in cooperation with JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology) — directly challenges China’s 60 percent share of global magnet rare earth mining, more than 90 percent of refining and 95 percent of permanent magnet production. Japanese giants such as Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Sony and Hitachi are watching closely for strategic offtake. Reports from the USGS, IEA and OECD highlight that deep-sea recovery, alongside projects led by Lynas (Australia), MP Materials (United States), Vietnam and Brazil, may form a meaningful building block of diversification toward 2030.
