Sankei learned on Dec. 14 that the Japanese government plans to allocate about 90 billion yen in the FY2022 budget to secure critical resources, such as rare earths that are of increasing importance for economic security. The budget will receive Cabinet approval by the end of the month. Another 410 billion yen will be allocated to promote green growth to realize net zero greenhouse gas emissions (carbon neutrality) by 2050. The allocations were requested by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

The government is promoting mineral exploration projects for the stable supply of rare earths, which are indispensable for batteries and semiconductors. The government plans to provide support (about 51.3 billion yen) for the exploration of petroleum and natural gas fields and the acquisition of their assets.

In addition, the government will allocate about 35 billion yen to support the operations of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in order to attract foreign companies with cutting-edge technology in growth fields, such as digital and green technology, and to strengthen Japanese companies’ supply chains.

The government has already allocated about 774 billion yen to the supplementary FY2021 budget with the aim of strengthening the foundations of the semiconductor industry, which is indispensable for digitization. About 15 billion yen will be allocated in the FY2022 budget to support the domestic production of advanced semiconductors.

About 15.5 billion yen will be allocated as a subsidy to promote the introduction of clean energy vehicles, such as electric vehicles (EV). About 11 billion yen will be allocated as a subsidy for hydrogen station maintenance. Approximately 2.4 billion yen will be included for the technological development of innovative storage batteries for EVs.

In addition, about 75.5 billion yen will be allocated to subsidies for local governments administering areas hosting nuclear power plants.