The developments are consistent with the country’s efforts to explore alternatives to nuclear power following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) director Masaharu Itoh told Bloomberg that a 2.4MW turbine had been deployed off Choshi in Chiba prefecture as part of a research project with Tokyo Electric Power.
NEDO also plans to install a 2MW turbine off Kitakyushu on the southern island of Kyushu as part of a project with Electric Power Development (J-Power).
These two projects, which includes the construction of a turbine and observation tower, each cost about JPY5bn($53m).
The Choshi turbine will be operational by March 2013 while the Kitakyushu turbine is expected to become operational in June or July.
Japan will employ the power generation data from the two turbines to develop better offshore turbines and technologies.
