TOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - Japan and Canada are
discussing collaboration on building strong supply chains for
battery metals, Japan's industry minister, Yasutoshi Nishimura,
said on Tuesday.
A public-private mission led by Japan's Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry (METI) and including 16 companies that work
with batteries visited Canada last week for talks on building
sustainable and resilient supply chains, he said.
"Canada has an abundance of battery metals and good market
access to the United States," Nishimura told a news conference.
"Canada is one of the most important countries for Japan
when it comes to strengthening our supply chains of storage
battery metals," he said.
He declined to give details of the talks but said he would
take various opportunities, including an upcoming G7 ministerial
meeting, to reinforce cooperation with Canada.
As the chair of the Group of Seven nations (G7) this year,
Japan will hold a ministerial meeting on climate, energy and
environment in the city of Sapporo on April 15-16, ahead of a G7
summit in Hiroshima on May 19-21, to promote what it calls a
realistic energy transition.
Batteries are key for Japan as it strives for carbon
neutrality by 2050 as they are the most important technology in
the electrification of automobiles and other devices and
essential for boosting the adoption of renewable energy.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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