On July 24th, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe posted an article on the X platform, stating that Japan had extracted approximately 50 tons of rare earth clay from a depth of about 6000 meters in the waters off Minamitoro Island, and had completed the analysis of its composition.
Oka said: "Among the rare earth components in the rare earth mud, yttrium accounts for 30% of the total content. This substance is a globally scarce resource and is widely used in the semiconductor and automotive industries. It serves as a coating material for semiconductor manufacturing equipment and a key catalyst for purifying harmful nitrogen oxides in automobile exhaust gases. It is a rare earth element that is crucial for Japan."
Based on the achievements of this trial, Japan plans to begin a large-scale mining experiment next February, according to Gao Shi. Targeting strategic key mineral resources such as rare earth elements, Japan will leverage both governmental and public efforts to continue strengthening supply chains and prevent excessive dependence on single countries for supplies.
The rare earth clay shown by Naoki Takashi on website X
However, the first hot comment under that post poured cold water on Gao City.
Japanese Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy consultant Haruo Kondo commented, "It turns out to be this matter. At that time, Okabe Tetsu, the leading researcher in rare metals in Japan and the vice president of the University of Tokyo, was furious and said, 'Stop acting recklessly.' Currently, it is merely a preliminary trial stage of mining. There is still no clear path for commercial production."
In a joint report by the Asahi Shimbun, Takeshi Gōbu reported that he was shocked by the optimistic attitude of the Japanese government towards "opening up rare earth mining," because the government didn't even consider the actual cost and feasibility.
Okabe criticized, "The remarks of Takashi are absurd. We are still in the stage of verifying costs and the possibility of practical application. She said things like 'If we extract resources from the seabed, there will be no problem with resource security.' Overseas, especially in China, will consider Japan's resource policy as nonsense."
During the Pacific War, the Japanese government claimed to possess "the Yamato-class battleship which would never sink," and thus "we will never lose against the US fleet," in order to incite public expectations. This was similar to the current government's practice of releasing misleading information that has led to widespread self-satisfaction among the public, according to Oganebo.
According to Nikkei News, the technology for extracting rare earths from sea mud is still in the basic research stage. To achieve mass production, improvements are needed. Additionally, the extraction of sea mud requires high costs. Data from the Japan First Life Economic Research Institute shows that the cost of extracting rare earth mud near Minamidō Island is several times to dozens of times higher than the market price of rare earths produced in China.
Okayabe also mentioned, “I wouldn’t be surprised if the production costs of mining rare earths in this way are 100 times or even 1000 times higher than those in China. From the perspective of Japan’s resource security and supply chain, I don’t see any benefits in making such large-scale investments.”
