In order to jointly explore the deposits of rare earth in Rajasthan's deserts, Japan is now in conversation with India. This has been confirmed by the two people who are familiar with the discussion and the move comes when Tokyo is looking for measures to reduce its dependence on the supply of critical materials for magnet manufacturing from China.

Why explore specifically in Rajasthan? This is because Kishan Reddy, the country's Mines Minister, last month revealed that there are three hard rock rare earth deposits that contain almost 1.29 million tonnes of rare earth oxides that have been identified in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

India, back in June 2025, in a bold move to tighten control over critical minerals and challenge China's dominance, directed IREL to suspend a 13-year-old rare earth export agreement with Japan. The directive, issued by the Indian government to state-run miner IREL (India) Ltd., marks a turning point in New Delhi's strategy to secure its domestic supply chain for high-tech and clean energy sectors.

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Tokyo, following the preliminary pact related to critical minerals, which has been signed between Japan and India, according to the sources, is showing a direct interest in recently found deposits in Rajasthan and is planning to send experts to the site physically.

Now the question that arises, even before a year of the signed pact between India and Japan, this new alliance with Tokyo is a strategy to revive the lost relationship again or a combined move against the global rising reliance on China?

Not only this, in this entire process, Tokyo is deemed to be involved with the decision-making process directly and declined to be named as the deliberations are not public. However, no clear date during which these experts will be visiting India has yet to be revealed.

In this project, the Japanese government, in Rajasthan, shall provide technologies required for extraction and funding in exchange for a stable offtake of rare earths, which will be taken to Japan. These technologies for extracting hard rock deposits mark those that are not currently in India.

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As informed by the Deputy Director at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Naoki Kobayashi, to Reuters, globally, Japan is undertaking exploration of various mining projects in order to diversify its mineral supplies, which also includes rare earths. However, the deputy director did not indulge in conversation regarding any specific corporate partnership or the technological provision in Rajasthan.

India, with similar intentions to Japan, is willing to reduce import dependency on China by establishing industrial-scale facilities for processing rare earth elements to a high purity level, with Japan, obviously, yet again, providing the required technologies.

China, last week, banned the export of dual-use items, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes, to nearly 20 Japanese entities that Beijing accuses of supporting Japan's military. This move adds to the ongoing tensions between China and Tokyo, indicating a further escalation in the current matter.

The recent move isolates Japanese companies from accessing the seven rare earth elements and related materials that fall under China's dual-use control framework, as well as a variety of other critical minerals that are also regulated.

In addition to focusing on rare earths, Japan is actively looking to partner with Indian firms to tap into lithium, copper and cobalt resources in Africa, according to one of the sources.

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