The United States and Japan announced expanded cooperation at a summit on Thursday, including Japanese investment of up to $73 billion in U.S. energy projects and an action plan to develop alternatives to China for critical minerals and rare earths.
Here are some details of the projects based on joint fact sheets issued from the summit:
The two governments announced plans for the construction of small modular reactors by GE Vernova Hitachi in Tennessee and Alabama at an estimated cost of up to $40 billion.
GE Vernova Hitachi is a joint venture between General Electric and Japanese conglomerate Hitachi.
The governments also announced plans for construction of natural gas generation facilities in Pennsylvania at an estimated cost of up to $17 billion and in Texas at a cost of up to $16 billion.
A fact sheet said the projects would help stabilize electricity prices for the American people and also supply power to data centers.
The projects are the second batch to be announced after Japan committed to investments worth $550 billion in the United States to win relief from tariffs the U.S. president imposed last year.
The two countries released an action plan to develop alternatives to China for critical minerals and rare earths supply chains, focusing initially on price floors for a select group of minerals.
They said they aimed to deliver "concrete, near-term results towards securing mutual supply chain resilience" and would discuss coordinated trade policies such as a border-adjusted price floor mechanism.
They did not identify which minerals would be considered first for price floors, but the fact sheet listed 13 projects among those the governments intended to support, including ventures dealing with rare-earth recycling, nickel, gallium, lithium and fluorite.
Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump signed a framework agreement on rare earths in October 2025 in Tokyo as both countries were struggling with Chinese export controls.
The countries also shared the text of a memorandum of understanding on plans to establish a Japan-U.S. working group to accelerate deep-sea mineral resource development.
It said this would involve sharing information on deep-sea science and seabed mineral resource projects, including presentations on Japan's rare-earth muds project near Minamitorishima Island and polymetallic nodules project, to explore potential cooperation.
Reuters
