Japan and U.S. Sign Seabed Mining Cooperation Agreement

Seabed Mining Agreement

Japan and the United States have agreed to cooperate on deep-sea mining, marking a notable show of support for Washington’s efforts to advance the industry without broader international cooperation.

In a memorandum of cooperation signed by officials from both countries last week, Japan and the United States said they would share research and insights from their work in the emerging sector. The arrangement is not legally binding, but diplomats and officials who work on seabed issues described it as an extraordinary public endorsement of recent U.S. efforts to jump-start deep-sea mining.

The agreement was signed alongside other economic and resource-focused partnership deals after President Trump met in Washington with Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.

International Debate

Large areas of the ocean floor contain valuable minerals, but extracting them would be technically difficult. Critics also warn that mining could harm marine ecosystems.

The issue has also created diplomatic tensions. The United States has said it intends to issue permits for mining in international waters, even though such areas are not under any single country’s control.

The memorandum was later circulated at a semiannual meeting of the International Seabed Authority, the independent body established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to regulate the seabed in international waters. The 170 countries that follow that law have spent a decade debating rules for mining metals and minerals from the ocean floor.

Growing Fractures

At their latest meeting, those countries again failed to reach consensus. About 40 countries have called for a moratorium or outright ban on the practice.

The absence of an international agreement has frustrated both the mining industry and governments interested in moving forward. During the recent meeting, the Japanese delegation said it was concerned about further delays.

The new U.S.-Japan arrangement could signal a deeper fracture in the long-running international effort to establish shared rules for seabed mining while protecting ocean ecosystems.