ISTANBUL

Japan on Tuesday decided to implement a strategy aiming at attracting 15 trillion yen (approximately $107 billion) in investment in hydrogen supply over the next 15 years in order to accelerate decarbonization in the country.

The revised Basic Hydrogen Strategy, which outlines Japan's plans to increase its hydrogen supply by six times, from the current 2 million tons to roughly 12 million tons by 2040, was also approved during a meeting between the relevant ministers, according to Tokyo-based Kyodo News.

This initiative, which involves collaboration between public and private sectors, aims to boost the utilization of hydrogen and accelerate the process of decarbonization, the news agency added.

"We would like to steadily build a supply chain for hydrogen in Asia and the Indo-Pacific region by further expanding Japan's (hydrogen) technology, which has been world-leading," Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters in Tokyo.

The move involves collaborating with Australia, as well as Middle Eastern and other Asian countries.

As hydrogen can power fuel cell vehicles, the government also intends to support the expansion of the use of hydrogen in the production of synthetic fuels and ammonia.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed the government's fervent desire to hasten the establishment of global supply chains for increased hydrogen availability, the news agency said.

Tokyo has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 besides reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 46% by 2030.

The government hopes that businesses will be encouraged to participate more actively in hydrogen initiatives in order to achieve the commercialization of hydrogen power generation by 2030.