The Japanese government is looking forward to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s visit to Japan, scheduled for May 26-28. This is the opinion of the Japanese Ambassador to Brazil, Takahiko Horimura, in a talk he gave May 12 in the auditorium of the administrative center of the University of BrasÀlia (UnB).
The Ambassador said that an economic partnership agreement between the two countries will be discussed during President Lula’s visit. Both countries’ private sectors have already shown interest in the agreement.
“As the country that led in the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol,” Japan is interested in promoting the use of new energy sources, such as ethanol.
“The introduction of ethanol, however, will affect all of Japan’s energy policy,” Horimura observed, adding that the economic aspects, such as price and reliable supply, will be examined.
Japan has already approved a law that allows a mixture of 3% ethanol with gasoline, the Ambassador informed.
Transfer of technology, which in Japan is concentrated in private companies, is frequently done through companies that operate in Brazil, according to the Ambassador.
“There are various options as to how the two governments can foment science and technology in the two countries,” Horimura said.
Japan has cut back on its international assistance appropriations, but it has consistently been Brazil’s biggest contributor, according to the Japanese Ambassador.
He said that from his country’s perspective, for there to be sustainable development, the process of eliminating poverty is essential, and “this depends upon industrialization, with job creation and the development favored by raw material exports.”
For Horimura, “industrialization is based on educational improvements,” and the objective of Japanese assistance is to help Brazil’s efforts in this direction.
The Ambassador said he believes that President Lula’s visit to Japan will result in contributions to the area of education.
He also expressed his belief that Brazil and Japan can work together for the construction of peace, the erradication of poverty, and the consolidation of demands before the World Trade Organization, to maintain and strengthen the multilateral free trade system.
Agência Brasil