Saturday, May 28, 2009

The Prime Minister Observes Advanced Environment-Friendly and Energy-Saving Technology Facilities

Prime Minister Taro Aso observed some of the advanced environment-friendly and energy-saving technology facilities in Kanagawa Prefecture.

First, Prime Minister Aso visited Kawasaki City to observe two facilities. One was a glass factory, which developed an innovative in-air fusion technology (a method of dropping glass materials in an ultra-high temperature kiln for their instant fusion) that replaced the traditional method of glass fusion which required a week, thereby reducing energy consumption by 60 percent. Another was an underground arcade that adopted an energy-saving air conditioning system that uses hydrate slurry (a fluid mixture of small hydrate crystals and liquid), which can store twice as much heat as water.

Later, the Prime Minister observed a model house in Yokohama City which targets zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emission by using solar photovoltaic power generation, fuel cells, and other technologies.

In answering a question from a reporter after the visit, Prime Minister Aso said, "According to the International Energy Agency (IEA)'s energy efficiency indicators, Japan has the world's leading energy-saving technologies. That is Japan's standing in the world. We need to step up technological innovation in response to global warming and other emerging issues of the global environment. Observing these sites helped me to have a clearer picture of the advanced technologies. In June, we will announce a mid-term target for the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP15), and this visit was very helpful in that respect."