TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced Wednesday that Japan and the United States plan to strengthen cooperation to develop rare-earth resources near Minamitorishima, a remote Pacific island, as both nations aim to reduce their dependence on China for critical minerals. Speaking in parliament, Takaichi confirmed that the issue would be discussed during her upcoming summit with US President Donald Trump this week. &ldquo;The rare earths in waters around Minamitorishima are one of the targets of this effort,&rdquo; she said, adding that both sides would examine &ldquo;what such cooperation should look like.&rdquo; The announcement follows a successful Japanese test mission last month that retrieved sediment rich in rare earth elements from depths of approximately 6,000 meters. The operation was carried out by the deep-sea drilling boat called Chikyu, which departed in January to explore the mineral-rich seabed surrounding the island. Rare earth elements, a group of 17 metals essential for technologies ranging from electric vehicles to hard drives, have become a focal point of geopolitical competition. Japan, the United States, and their allies have been accelerating efforts to secure alternative supply chains amid concerns over China&rsquo;s dominance in the sector. Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have intensified in recent months. China recently restricted exports of certain &ldquo;dual-use&rdquo; goods to Japan following remarks by Takaichi suggesting Tokyo could respond militarily in the event of a crisis involving Taiwan.&nbsp; The move has heightened fears in Japan that China could leverage its control over rare earth supplies to exert strategic pressure. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">China has long used its dominance in rare earths to exert geopolitical leverage, including during its trade war with Trump. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">The United States last month unveiled a critical-minerals partnership with the European Union and Japan, following a gathering in Washington amid growing concerns about China&#39;s dominant role in the sector.

Asia

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says Tokyo and Washington will discuss joint development of deep-sea rare earths near Minamitorishima to reduce reliance on China.

Japan, US to discuss joint rare earths development: Takaichi

WASHINGTON: The United States announced Tuesday a first tranche of investments by Japan out of a colossal $550 billion promised by Tokyo in its trade deal with President Donald Trump. The commitments of $36 billion for three infrastructure projects came as Japan comes under pressure to deliver on its pledges made in 2025 in return for lower US trade tariffs. &quot;Japan is now officially, and financially, moving forward with the FIRST set of Investments under its $550 BILLION Dollar Commitment to invest in the United States of America,&quot; Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.<div class="fr-embed"><iframe src="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/116087827602935657/embed" class="truthsocial-embed" style="max-width: 100%; border: 0;" width="600" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div>&quot;The scale of these projects are so large, and could not be done without one very special word, TARIFFS,&quot; he wrote. The announcement came ahead of a scheduled trip by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to the White House next month following Trump&#39;s visit to Japan in October. Japan-US alliance&nbsp;Takaichi said Wednesday the projects would &quot;strengthen the Japan&ndash;US alliance by enabling Japan and the United States to jointly build resilient supply chains in strategically important areas for economic security -- such as critical minerals, energy, and AI/data centers&quot;. &quot;We believe these initiatives truly embody the purpose of this Strategic Investment Initiative, namely the promotion of mutual benefit between Japan and the United States, the enhancement of economic security, and the promotion of economic growth,&quot; Takaichi said on X.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2023919723277414438&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=2f160a6af769a79deccd60df3035ac59ff0301d9&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 393px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>&quot;Going forward, we will continue to work closely together between Japan and the United States to further refine the details of each project and ensure that they can be implemented promptly and smoothly,&quot; she added. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Massive trade win&#39;&nbsp;</h2>The projects are a natural gas facility in Ohio, a deep-water oil export facility in the Gulf of Mexico, and a synthetic diamond manufacturing facility. US Trade Secretary Howard Lutnick called the announcements the &quot;MASSIVE AMERICA FIRST TRADE WIN&quot;. The natural gas generation facility will be the &quot;largest in history&quot;, generating 9.2 gigawatts of power, Lutnick said on X.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2023858503803122129&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=2f160a6af769a79deccd60df3035ac59ff0301d9&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 393px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>Takaichi said that it would supply electricity to AI data centers and similar facilities. At full capacity it would be the equivalent of nine nuclear reactors or the power consumed by about 7.4 million homes, Bloomberg News reported. &lsquo;Leading energy supplier&rsquo;&nbsp;The oil project will generate $20&ndash;30 billion annually in US crude exports and &quot;reinforce America&#39;s position as the world&#39;s leading energy supplier,&quot; Lutnick said. The facility making synthetic diamond grit -- where China dominates supplies -- will ensure that the United States is no longer reliant on foreign imports, Lutnick said. &quot;Japan is providing the capital (for all three projects). The infrastructure is being built in the United States,&quot; the US commerce secretary added. &quot;The proceeds are structured so Japan earns its return, and America gains strategic assets, expanded industrial capacity, and strengthened energy dominance,&quot; he said. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Rebuild and expand&#39;&nbsp;</h2><h2 style="line-height: 2;">In July, Tokyo had agreed to invest $550 billion through 2029 &quot;to rebuild and expand core American industries,&quot; according to the White House.</h2> The pledge was made in exchange for reducing threatened US tariffs of 25% to 15% on Japanese imports. Japanese trade minister Ryosei Akazawa has said that only one to two percent of the $550 billion would be actual capital. The rest will be made up of bonds and loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and credits with public guarantees. The clock has been ticking ahead of Takaichi&#39;s planned White House visit on March 19, and according to media reports, tempers were starting to fray. In January, Trump told South Korea -- meant to invest $350 billion -- that he would raise tariffs because it was &quot;not living up to its Deal&quot;. Analysts say that Japanese companies may be wary because of lack of clarity on the administrative and financial procedures and concerns about US labor shortages.

In July 2025, Tokyo had agreed to invest $550 billion through 2029 ‘to rebuild and expand core American industries’; the pledge was made in exchange for reducing threatened US tariffs of 25% to 15% on Japanese imports.

Articles tagged with "United States-Japan Relations"

Japan, US to discuss joint rare earths development: Takaichi

US, Japan announce first tranche of $550B investments