German Chancellor Olaf Scholz finished a quick visit to Japan with a tour of a hydrogen factory in Tokyo.
Berlin has made finding new energy sources a priority as it strives to wean itself from Russian fossil fuels as a result of the Ukraine conflict.
The Chiyoda Corporation has devised a method for transporting hydrogen in standard containers and cargo ships by combining it with a solvent.
Mr. Scholz met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday and the two nations decided to work together more closely.
Mr. Scholz stated, “My travel is also a strong political statement that Germany and the European Union wish to maintain and deepen our engagement in the Indo-Pacific area.”
On his first visit to the area since assuming office, the German leader spent around 20 hours in Tokyo.
Mr. Scholz’s choice of Japan was unique; his predecessors, Angela Merkel and Gerhard Schröder, had gone to China first, which has a larger economy and is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Mr. Scholz, on the other hand, claimed it was no coincidence that he went to Japan first.
Along with South Korea and Singapore, Japan is one of only three Asian countries to impose sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Kishida thanked Mr. Scholz on Thursday for his government’s decision to provide heavy weaponry to Ukraine.
Japan is one of the industrialized democracies that make up the Group of Seven (G7).
Germany has the G7 chair this year, and the G7 summit will be held in Bavaria in July. In 2023, Japan will assume the presidency.
HYDROGEN COOPERATION
In the energy crisis precipitated by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Germany’s Prime Minister declared that his country will collaborate with Japan in the field of hydrogen as an alternative energy source to coal and natural gas.
“Hydrogen will be an alternative to gas and coal in the future. With Japan-Germany collaboration, we may attain universal wealth by fostering hydrogen development “Scholz said. he stated
“Common difficulties like these can be managed better through collaboration,” Scholz said, adding that the two trade-oriented nations are aware of this reality and face similar concerns.
