On 5 October 2021, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, jointly with the Ministry of Finance, MEXT and MLIT, published amendments to the Regulatory Notices under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA) adding two new categories to the "Core Business Sectors" subject to mandatory prior-notification FDI screening: metal mining (including mineral exploration vessels and land/underwater survey activity) and manufacturing, repair/maintenance or software for equipment used in metal mining (exploration vessels, marine equipment, excavators, drilling machines). The stated purpose is to secure the stable supply of critical mineral resources including rare earths. The amendment took effect 4 November 2021 after a 30-day transitional period; any inward direct investment of 1% or more in a covered business now requires case-by-case government pre-approval.

Analyst notesShow

Mechanism

FEFTA's inward-direct-investment regime requires foreign investors acquiring 1% or more of a company in a designated "Core Business Sector" to file prior notification and obtain government clearance before closing. The 5 October 2021 Regulatory Notice amendments added two new Core Business Sector categories, both scoped to critical-mineral supply security:

Metal mining, including operation of mineral-exploration vessels and

land/underwater survey work.

Manufacturing, repair/maintenance or software for equipment used in

metal mining — exploration vessels, marine equipment, excavators, drilling machines.

The joint ministries (METI, MOF, MEXT, MLIT) framed the change around maintaining Japan's exploration capability for critical minerals, including rare earths, following the 2010 China rare-earth export disruption precedent. The amendment entered into force 4 November 2021, 30 days after promulgation.

Downstream implications

First explicit linkage of Japan's critical-minerals security posture to

FEFTA's Core Business Sector screening perimeter, four years ahead of the broader 2025 FEFTA tightening (Type-A/B investor categories, filed separately as 2025-05-19-japan-fefta-inward-fdi-screening-amendment-2025).

Any foreign acquisition of a Japanese mineral-exploration or mining-

equipment manufacturer now triggers mandatory pre-closing government review, regardless of investor nationality.

Open questions

METI's original press page has since been reorganised/retired on

meti.go.jp; the URL cited above returns a bot-block (403) from automated fetches but is independently corroborated by UNCTAD's Investment Policy Monitor and Global Trade Alert, both of which cite the same document and content.

Sources

Primary: METI — Publication of the Amendments to the Regulatory Notices adding the Core Business Sectors of FEFTA to Secure the Stable Supply of Critical Minerals (Oct 5, 2021)

Secondary: UNCTAD Investment Policy Monitor — Japan: foreign investment in activities related to 34 rare-earth metals now subject to screening (measure 3760) · Global Trade Alert — state act 71798