TOKYO: Japan plans to cooperate with the US to develop new nuclear reactors to achieve a decarbonized society, industry minister Koichi Hagiuda said Thursday.

The Japanese government will take part in international efforts to develop small modular reactors and fast reactors with higher efficiency than conventional reactors, Hagiuda told US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in a videoconference.

It is Hagiuda’s first meeting with the US energy secretary since he took office in October last year.

The US and many European countries are looking to nuclear power as a useful method of power generation in achieving decarbonization, as it does not emit carbon dioxide.

It has been revealed that Japan plans to share with a US company data gathered from the development of the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor.

Hagiuda and Granholm also discussed Japan-US cooperation regarding the development and commercialization of power generation technologies using hydrogen and ammonia, which do not emit CO2 when burned.

In addition, the two exchanged views ahead of the International Energy Agency’s ministerial meeting scheduled for February.

JIJI Press