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Japan and the United States agreed Saturday to cooperate on developing geothermal energy, one of the most plentiful resources on this volcanic island chain.
The memorandum of commitment was signed Saturday on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of Seven energy and environment ministers in the northern city of Hokkaido.
Japan’s famed hot springs reflect its abundant geothermal activity, but the spas and resorts clustered around them have slowed efforts to use that resource to generate power.
The pact signed by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Japan’s minister of economy, trade and industry, Yasutoshi Nishimura, says that geothermal energy is recognized as a “renewable energy technology that the United States and Japan can work together to advance.”
It calls for collaborating in research and development and exchange of information and in pursuing geothermal projects in the U.
