Govt to Launch Development Program for ASEAN Energy Sector; Japan-U.S. Joint Program for Regulations, Standards

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:04 JST, January 4, 2025

The government from fiscal 2025 will launch a joint project with the United States to develop human resources in the energy sectors of Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states. The initiative aims to make it easier for Japanese companies to enter the countries by encouraging the countries to introduce Japanese safety standards.

Under the program, administrative officials from the ASEAN member states will be invited to Japan to attend lectures by experts from Japan’s and the United States’ public and private sectors.

Specifically, the officials will receive training on Japanese and U.S. security standards and regulations for operating nuclear power and liquefied natural gas plants.

If Japanese security standards are introduced in power plants in ASEAN countries, Japanese companies with expertise in maintenance and inspection of the plants will be more likely to receive contracts for such work from those countries’ governments and businesses.

Japan also hopes to contribute to the countries’ decarbonization efforts by providing advanced technology.

The government has appropriated about ¥150 billion in the fiscal 2024 supplementary budget as expenses to enhance collaboration with the group of emerging and developing countries known as the Global South, which includes ASEAN member states and India.

In recent years, Japan has been emphasizing the importance on the Global South in maintaining a free and open international order. In June last year, the government decided on a policy of strengthening its partnership with Global South nations. Under the policy, members of the Global South are positioned as partners in creating an economic society of the future. The policy also includes actively backing companies venturing into such fields as artificial intelligence and decarbonization.