Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday leaves for a three-day visit to Turkey in a bid to push Japan's export of nuclear plant technology.
Abe last visited Turkey in May during which time he and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a $22 billion contract to build a nuclear power plant on Turkey's Black Sea coast.
A Japanese-French consortium won the lucrative deal to build Turkey's second nuclear plant, notching up Japan's first successful bid on an overseas nuclear project since a tsunami wrecked the power station in Fukushima, the world's worst nuclear accident in a generation. The consortium includes Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and power company Itochu and French energy company GDF-Suez.
Turkey weathered criticism for teaming up with Japan in light of the catastrophe. Turkey, which relies heavily on gas and oil imports from Russia and Iran, wants to build a total of three nuclear power plants to reduce its dependence on foreign supplies.
In 2010, Ankara struck a deal with Russia to build the country's first power plant at Akkuyu, in southern Turkey.
Abe has said that Japan will share its experience and the lessons it has learned from Fukushima and will contribute to the improvement of nuclear security at the highest level.
This year, Japan has also signed a nuclear cooperation deal with the United Arab Emirates.
During this week's trip, Abe and Erdogan are likely to discuss Turkey's third nuclear power plant project, as well as a free trade agreement between Japan and Turkey.
© Japan Today/AFP
20 Comments
Login to comment
some14some
Is Abe a good businessman?
MADCOWS
good or bad, he is trying, which more than can be said about mos of the predecessors!
ohayo206
TEPCO sounds like a great model organization to copy from.
JeffLee
...and from Tokaimura, and Monju and MOx and so on.....
FightingViking
While French technology should pose no problem, Japanese expertise... ???
overchan
Japanese nuclear tech is great. Fukushima was mostly general electric madd by japanese contractors
Raven Bo
If earthquake was in usa, both electric and GE would been bankrupt. It was bad designed plant by usa GE with poor procedure in triply bad location. It was in low area with ground water, near earth quake, and tsunami prone area.
"Thirty-five years ago, Dale G. Bridenbaugh and two of his colleagues at General Electric resigned from their jobs after becoming increasingly convinced that the nuclear reactor design they were reviewing -- the Mark 1 -- was so flawed it could lead to a devastating accident. "
Spanki
Japan has unfortunately lost a great opportunity to change the way it produces power. Nothing will change here for generations, will it only take another disaster before people actually stand up and say enough is enough?
rickyvee
man, i can't remember any previous PM who has traveled more than Abe. although his politics are not my flavor, i gotta say he's giving it his all. now if only my company will give me a raise to compensate for that 3% rise in the consumption tax：）
smithinjapan
"Abe has said that Japan will share its experience and the lessons it has learned from Fukushima..."
Share its experience? let's hope not! As for lessons learned, it's pretty clear they've learned nothing at all. In fact, they even want to suppress any news about the continuing catastrophe with new laws aimed at doing so.
FightingViking
rickyvee
...and do you know at whose expense ??? Tax payers in Japan... !!!
wanderlust
So will he be given the monniker 'Air Miles Abe', as happened to the UK'S Prince Andrew, when he was a so-called Trade Ambassador?
Louis Tan
Maybe Abe knows a few Turkish jokes to tell Turkey. A man without credibility jetting all over the world just to ensure that his face appears in the daily Japanese newspapers and the international press. Wonder how many times his has been spitted on or fun made from them
Peter Shaw
turkey and that region are prone to bad earthquakes as well....do people ever learn?
kaimycahl
Abe heads to Turkey to push Japan's nuclear tech exports LMAO learned from Fukushima if only the people really knew what was going on inside that hell zone. Besides Abe and Obama I wonder who has the most frequent flyer miles!! These guys are always on the go!
toshiko
@peter: Do you know what kind of earthquakes and tsunamis Turkey have every year or maybe in past 10 years? Are they about same like in Japan or worse?
JTDanMan
Oh boy.
toshiko
This French company is owned by China Invest Co (money company not energy( 30#. Mitshubshi HI ia one of Mitsubishi group incustry. IItochu? like Mitxubishi it has been big operations in Japan more than 200 years. Mitsubishi has Nuclear Energy and others I am sure you all know. Itochu have many corporationss, too. For instance, Energy & Chemical, Too many companies like Mitsubishi I wonder this French company will be independent later. MHI and Itochu have money and technology oriented. these Japanese organization do not need Chinese investment. Seems to me Japan will b=have different knd of Japan Inc. They already conquered US industry years ago.
SenseNotSoCommon
Right behind you, Sisyphus!
toshiko
Maybe Turkey is not happy with Russian operation and technology? Abe said politely sharing instead of teaching. Turkey must be very anxious to let its scholars and scientists to learn from outside corporations, After this, other countries in middle east will follow Turkey's decision. Abe will have more travels. A good sales representative in the world. Sager for Japanese people than copying American methods of supporting rebels and spending $$$. without result.