By Chika Nakayama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Mitsubishi Electric Corp., in collaboration with Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. and other companies, has launched an initiative to recover rare earth elements from discarded residential air conditioners for reuse in new units, the company announced.

Mitsubishi Electric is expected to replace about 35% of the rare earth elements used in air conditioners that it manufactures in Japan with recycled elements.

The company said the initiative is the first of its kind in the country.

Mitsubishi Electric's affiliated companies will collect and dismantle residential air conditioners, including those manufactured by other companies, and extract parts containing rare earth elements. Shi-Etsu Chemical, meanwhile, will separate, refine and recycle the rare earth elements.

Air conditioners contain more rare earth elements than many other home appliances. However, due to the difficulty of disassembling components and cost-related challenges, the recovery rate for the elements has remained low.

China has been intensifying its economic pressure on other countries through export restrictions on rare earth elements and other scarce resources. Promoting recycling is expected not only to reduce the impact on the environment but also contribute to Japan's economic security.

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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June 22, 2026 07:03 ET (11:03 GMT)

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