In the sunless depths thousands of meters beneath the ocean surface, an ancient ecosystem of slow-growing corals and creatures is becoming the front line of a global contest for critical minerals. Japan achieved a major technological milestone in February 2026 by becoming the world's first country to continuously extract mineral-rich rare-earth mud from a depth of 6,000 meters. However, Tokyo's push to secure domestic mineral supplies comes at a time when an increasing number of nations, scientists, and corporations are demanding an international halt to deep-sea mining over unresolved ecological concerns.
The successful offshore operation took place aboard a vessel positioned nearly 2,000 kilometers away near Minamitorishima, Japan's easternmost island. Working at an exact depth of 5,569 meters down to the ship's deck, the expedition retrieved sediment rich in critical minerals. For Japan, the achievement represents a major step toward breaking free from foreign reliance. Tokyo depends on China for approximately 90 percent of its rare earth imports, a vulnerability exposed when Beijing halted exports to Japan in 2010 and subsequently banned rare-earth sales in 2012 following territorial disputes.
To address this supply chain risk, a large-scale research initiative led by Japan's Cabinet Office is framing the Minamitorishima mud deposits within the nation's Exclusive Economic Zone as a cornerstone of resource security and national strategy. The project was initially spurred by discoveries made by Professor Yasuhiro Kato of the University of Tokyo, who identified the rare-earth sediment in the area. Kato noted that developing these resources could resolve supply problems and confirmed that the issue has gained intense focus across the industrial sector. Under the current government roadmap, developers plan to execute demonstration tests recovering 350 metric tons of mud per day by February 2027, with the objective of commercializing rare-earth mud from Minamitorishima starting in 2028.
While Japan prepares for industrial extraction, international sentiment is moving in a different direction. Across international waters, where the International Seabed Authority has granted over 30 exploration contracts to various countries in an accelerating effort to harvest seabed metals like cobalt, nickel, and rare earths for smartphones, electric vehicles, and wind turbines, resistance is mounting. At the same time, a growing chorus of calls to slow down on commercial mining is evident in the international community. Forty-six countries, including those in the EU, the Pacific Islands, and Africa, are calling for a moratorium or suspension of deep-sea mining.
This diplomatic pushback is extending into sovereign waters as well. In March 2025, Portugal became the first EU member state to ban deep-sea mining, enacting a law that remains in effect until 2050. Norway, which had previously become the first country to approve commercial seabed extraction, reversed its policy under political pressure, announcing a suspension of its mining plans until 2029. International leaders have also voiced warnings. At the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference, French President Emmanuel Macron declared a global moratorium "internationally essential," while the UN Secretary-General warned against turning the deep sea into the "Wild West." In addition, more than 77 corporations and financial institutions, including Google, Samsung, Volvo, and BMW, have pledged not to source minerals extracted from the seabed.
Behind these calls lies a deep uncertainty about what deep-sea mining would actually do to the ocean, from sediment plumes and noise to the long-term fate of ecosystems that science has barely begun to map. What unites the countries urging restraint is a single conviction: that too little is yet known to proceed. For Japan, environmental disruption in the Pacific deep sea could directly affect its national food supply. Japan consumes roughly a quarter of the world's total tuna and accounts for about 80 percent of global catch and consumption of Pacific bluefin tuna. Furthermore, scientists warn that seabed extractions could aggravate climate change. Seabed sediment forms one of Earth's largest carbon reservoirs, locking away organic carbon for thousands to millions of years. Disturbing these deposits risks releasing stored carbon into the ocean and the atmosphere.
Scientific studies highlight the extreme vulnerability of deep-sea environments. Professor Jeffrey Drazen of the University of Hawai‘i, who co-authored a November 2025 paper in Nature Communications on deep-sea mining impacts, warned that commercial expansion carries delayed but catastrophic effects. Drazen compared the process to building a factory whose smokestacks emit smoke without visible initial harm to a nearby forest, only for trees to begin dying a decade later. Unlike Japanese forests that can regenerate in roughly 30 years after logging, deep-sea organisms live for millennia and recover on vastly slower timescales. Drazen noted that deep-sea natural environments recover very slowly and warned that recovery may be impossible in some cases.
Physical evidence of this slow recovery was documented in a March 2025 study published in Nature, which examined the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a stretch of the Pacific deep sea extending south from Hawai‘i. Researchers revisited a site where test mining in the 1970s removed polymetallic nodules—rounded lumps of minerals—leaving furrows eight meters apart. Forty-four years later, those tracks remained starkly visible. While some organisms returned, large sessile animals such as deep-sea corals and sponges had barely recolonized the area, leading researchers to conclude that physical impacts will persist for at least many decades.
Despite these warnings, proponents of Japan's rare-earth project argue that environmental risks are being overstated. Professor Kato pointed out that manganese nodule mining has been researched since the 1980s and stated that those who have conducted actual testing feel the real-world impact is quite limited. However, experts emphasize a key technical distinction: while nodule mining benefits from 50 years of accumulated research dating back to the 1970s, Japan's rare-earth project involves sucking up vast quantities of thick sediment. Scientific research into the ecological consequences of rare-earth mud extraction is even scarcer than for nodule harvesting, placing Japan at the center of a pivotal global debate as it moves forward as an ISA member with its deep-sea strategy.
However, these calls do not completely rule out future development. Rather, they represent a movement urging countries to wait a little longer to explore deep-sea resources and eventual commercialization.
Behind these calls lies a deep uncertainty about what deep-sea mining would actually do to the ocean, from sediment plumes and noise to the long-term fate of ecosystems that science has barely begun305055) to map. What unites the countries urging restraint is a single conviction: that too little is yet known to proceed.
