Scientists in Japan have successfully collected a substance believed to be rich in rare-earth elements from the mud. This achievement marks the first instance of this process, and represents a possible solution to the global scarcity of these key resources, widely used in high-tech industries. The exact location of the extraction, specific details about the mud's rare-earth content, and plans for further testing have not been disclosed yet.

Japan, as an advanced technology-driven nation, has high demand but low natural availability of rare-earth elements. These elements are critical in developing various tech products, including electric vehicles and robotics. This news will be seen as a potential step towards lessening the country's dependence on international providers of these elements. Currently, they rely heavily on imports, notably from China.

In the US and EU, there's a growing concern about the dependency on rare-earth imports, primarily from China. Similar research and development efforts are underway, such as the EU's Horizon 2020 program for retrieving rare earth elements from waste. However, they face environmental arguments regarding mining and extraction processes, making a breakthrough like Japan's of widespread interest.