The Japanese government has proposed an expansion of Japan’s support for the Russian energy sector as part of a move to strengthen ties between the two countries in advance of the Russian president’s visit to Japan in April and a visit by the Japanese prime minister to Russia in the Autumn.
The energy sector proposals include a project to promote the efficient use of energy, aimed at countering the emission of greenhouse gases in Russia by repairing and renovating old power plants and oil refineries. More efficient power plants produce proportionally less carbon dioxide.
Vice-ministerial level talks – the first Russian-Japanese energy conference – have been scheduled between the two countries early this year. The Russian minister for fuel and power engineering will be invited to Japan, probably in March, to discuss the details of the proposed energy project.