Japan and deep seabed mining

Abstract

Japan holds a unique position among potential deep seabed mining states. This paper describes this uniqueness and identifies four possible factors that the author believes have influenced the shaping of Japan's policy. These factors are: the importance of the use of oceans and a stable legal order, the near‐total dependence on imports of the four mineral resources which are contained in manganese nodules, the need to cooperate with Western industrialized countries, and the traditional close ties between the government and private industry. The paper then examines the past and current developments regarding Japan's involvement in deep seabed affairs from the perspectives provided by these four salient facts. The author concludes by expressing the hope that current differences in the positions of potential mining states will be reconciled as actual deep seabed exploitation becomes more of a reality.