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Japan to invest $20 bil. in clean energy projects in Vietnam

Mar 06, 2025 (News On Japan) - Japan has agreed to invest up to 20 billion dollars in low-carbon energy projects in Vietnam. This comes amid a regional push to reach carbon neutrality in the coming decades.

The countries held a meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday. They decided Japan would help fund 14 projects, including wind power plants. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation and private companies will lead the investments.

Power shortages are common in Vietnam, particularly in the north. There are growing concerns this is hindering foreign investment in the country.

"We will create significant opportunities for cooperation in economy, trade and investment between businesses in our two countries," said Vietnamese Industry and Trade Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long.

"Japan wants to provide maximum support so Japanese firms can take advantage of these opportunities and participate in Vietnam's decarbonization market," said Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki.

Vietnam aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. It was also one of the countries--along with Japan--to adopt measures to accelerate decarbonization efforts at last year's Asia Zero Emission Community meeting.

But pursuing this goal while also expanding its power supply is a major challenge.

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Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

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