Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung confirmed on Saturday their continued cooperation on nuclear power generation in Vietnam and the joint development of rare earths in the Southeast Asian nation, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
Whether foreign countries will continue to import Japan’s nuclear power technology has drawn attention since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
The two leaders also noted that their cooperation on rare earths development is moving forward, it said.
Japan has been keen to jointly develop the elements with Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations where the resources are said to be relatively unexploited, as China currently controls more than 90 percent of global supplies.
The minerals are crucial for making high-tech goods including smartphones and hybrid cars.
The meeting, joined by Japan’s transport minister Takeshi Maeda and Nguyen Minh Quang, Vietnam’s natural resources and environment minister, was held on the sidelines of a summit between Japan and the five Mekong delta nations of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
The two leaders also welcomed the signing earlier this week of a note that paves the way for Vietnamese nationals to work in Japan as nurses and caregivers under their free trade accord. Japan already has similar agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Dung said at a press conference Saturday he supports Japan’s intention to join the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations.
“The joining of a big economic power such as Japan will make the TPP more attractive and accelerate regional cooperation and economical alliance,” Dung said at the Japan National Press Club.
Concerning the planned construction of nuclear reactors by Japan, Dung said he expects Japan to construct “the safest nuclear reactors using its cutting-edge technology.”
