Japan, US to discuss joint rare earths development, says Sanae Takaichi

Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday 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 metres (about 20,000 feet) on a test mission close to Minamitorishima island.

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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-US summit meeting," scheduled for Thursday, she added.

"We will be discussing the specifics of what such cooperation should look like."

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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.

China has long used its dominance in rare earths for geopolitical leverage, including in its trade war with Trump.

The United States last month unveiled a critical minerals partnership with the European Union and Japan, after a gathering in Washington amid growing concerns about China's dominant role in the sector.