Japan and France will work together in developing next-generation nuclear reactors, the Sankei newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Japanese Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and French Energy Transition Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher will meet in Paris later in the day and plan to sign an agreement, the paper said, without saying where it obtained the information from.
The two countries will also work together in improving the safety of existing nuclear reactors so that they can keep operating for a longer period of time, decommissioning the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor and supporting related supply chains.
The next-generation reactors, or fast-neutron reactors, will produce less radioactive waste, and Japan sees them as potentially key for the country to become less reliant on energy from carbon. The administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said it plans to spend ¥46 billion ($337 million) over three years starting next April to help develop such reactors.
Source: Bloomberg
