TOKYO - Japan and Britain are considering setting up a framework to promote collaboration on offshore wind power generation, Japanese government sources said Thursday, as renewable energy attracts renewed attention amid the Middle East conflict.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her British counterpart Keir Starmer are expected to exchange a memorandum on the energy field that will also cover next-generation nuclear power plants and nuclear fusion technology when they meet in London on Sunday, the sources said.
The leaders are arranging a joint statement regarding economic security centering on energy cooperation, in which they would express concerns over economic coercion such as export controls on critical minerals, apparently with China in mind, according to the sources.
Their first summit since January in Tokyo comes as Britain and other European nations have been advancing large-scale offshore wind projects in the North Sea.
Resource-poor Japan, which relied heavily on the Middle East for its crude oil imports, has been seeking to diversify its energy resources as regional tensions have escalated since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran broke out in late February.
Takaichi and Starmer will also agree to strengthen the bilateral partnership in innovation and cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence and semiconductors, while confirming the importance of building resilient supply chains, the sources said.
Also expected to be on the agenda are a trilateral next-generation fighter jet project together with Italy, as well as cooperation on the defense industry, cybersecurity and intelligence activities, the sources said.
As for the Middle East, the leaders will discuss how to realize safe navigation through the effectively closed Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy artery, and possibly bring up Britain's idea of dispatching a multinational force, the sources added.
In addition to the talks with Starmer, Takaichi is also expected to visit Italy to meet with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday and attend the three-day Group of Seven summit in Evian, France, through next Wednesday.
