Japanese government and industries are likely to invest $6.4 billion in green energy technologies over the next 15 months.
The Japanese government would offer subsidies worth $1.9 billion while the rest of the investment is likely to come from some 142 companies which include Fuji Electric Holding, Toda Kogyo Corp, Toshiba Corp, Sharp Corp and Panasonic Corp. Investments would be made in a wide range of green technologies like fuel-efficient cars, energy-efficient appliances, LED lighting systems and solar panels.
The $6.4 billion investment is expected to create about 10,000 jobs directly within the next 15 months as companies expand their manufacturing infrastructure and production capacity.
Other industries which provide services and equipment for the production of these green products would indirectly contribute in generation of another 85,000 jobs. This investment is likely to create an annual product demand worth $22.9 billion.
The Japanese government is pretty serious about lending credit to companies now that the country has learned the lessons from the global economic crisis. The government has made it clear that it wants to see solid results in terms of meaningful economic growth.
The head of green job creation and industrial facility section at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Gun Saito said, “we regularly check the effect of job creation with companies that receive subsidies, and if there is no positive feedback we would deal with it strictly, including forcing them to return subsidies.
Japan is not rich in natural energy resources and is heavily dependent on import of energy products. After the global economic crisis and a slump in the domestic economy, the government unveiled massive long-term plans to invest in green energy sectors to ensure sustainable economic growth.
In 2009, the government announced an ambitious plan to expand its $745 billion green energy business sector to $1 trillion by 2020 thus creating about 800,000 new jobs.
Article by Mridul Chadha, appearing courtesy ecopolitology.
