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2017 January 11 - 17 [POLITICS]

Abe promotes sale of coal-fired plants

January 14, 2017
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo took leaders of corporations in the coal-fired power generation industry with him on his visit to the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Australia, Akahata reported on January 14.

PM Abe puts priority on aggressively selling nuclear and coal-fired power plants to foreign countries, but faces fierce criticism from many quarters because his stance goes against global efforts to tackle climate change.

At a New Year reception held by electric industry organizations on January 5, Economy and Industry Minister Seko Hiroshige announced that executives of JERA Co., Inc, a joint venture company funded by Tokyo and Chubu electric power companies, were invited to accompany Abe on his six-day tour of four Asia-Pacific nations slated to start on January 12.

In response to an Akahata inquiry, JERA said that company officials will join his visit to Australia and Indonesia. The export of coal-fired power generation technology and expertise by JERA is one of the pillars of the Abe government measures to support TEPCO’s reconstruction.

In the Prime Minister’s visit to Indonesia, representatives of Itochu, J-Power (Electric Power Development Co., Ltd.), Marubeni, IHI, and Sumitomo Corporation also took part. These companies, together with local power companies, are engaging in projects to construct coal thermal power stations in Indonesia. Local environmental groups criticized some of those projects for their forcible seizure of land and serious human rights violations against local residents.

Business leaders’ groups attached to Abe’s visit to the Philippines and Vietnam included Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. In the two countries, joint venture companies of Hitachi and Mitsubishi have increased the number of orders for coal-fired power generation.

Past related articles
> JCP urges gov’t-funded bank to not finance Indonesian project that is causing human rights violations [March 25, 2016]
> Abe in Europe busy selling Japan’s nuclear power plants [May 8, 2014]
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