Kan to announce plan to promote use of solar panels at G-8 summit
May 24, 2011
Prime Minister Naoto Kan intends to announce a plan to install solar panels over all structurally eligible buildings and homes in Japan by 2030 when he attends the summit of the Group of Eight major powers in France later this week, sources close to him said Monday.
Kan will make the announcement at the outset of the two-day summit to be held from Thursday in the resort town of Deauville, in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the northeastern part of Japan and crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the sources said.
In his speech, Kan will stress that the ''Sunrise Plan'' to expand the installation of solar panels is part of Japan's efforts to promote the use of photovoltaic, wind and other renewable energy sources.
The G-8 summit will also be attended by the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States.
Meanwhile, Japan and some G-8 members decided on schedules for bilateral meetings to be held on the sidelines of the summit, including a meeting between Kan and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for Friday afternoon, government sources said.
Among the G-8 leaders, France's Nicolas Sarkozy will be the first to hold bilateral talks with Kan, with their meeting taking place in Paris on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the summit, followed by talks with U.S. President Barack Obama, slated for Thursday.
The governments of Japan and Germany are still working on the schedule for talks between Kan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, they said.
On top of these meetings, Kan will hold a bilateral meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday night. Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.
After wrapping up his meetings with the G-8 leaders, Kan will fly into Brussels, where he will attend a periodic meeting of the leaders of Japan and the European Union on Saturday and fly back home on Sunday, they added.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on May 24, 2011)
Kan will make the announcement at the outset of the two-day summit to be held from Thursday in the resort town of Deauville, in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the northeastern part of Japan and crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the sources said.
In his speech, Kan will stress that the ''Sunrise Plan'' to expand the installation of solar panels is part of Japan's efforts to promote the use of photovoltaic, wind and other renewable energy sources.
The G-8 summit will also be attended by the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States.
Meanwhile, Japan and some G-8 members decided on schedules for bilateral meetings to be held on the sidelines of the summit, including a meeting between Kan and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for Friday afternoon, government sources said.
Among the G-8 leaders, France's Nicolas Sarkozy will be the first to hold bilateral talks with Kan, with their meeting taking place in Paris on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the summit, followed by talks with U.S. President Barack Obama, slated for Thursday.
The governments of Japan and Germany are still working on the schedule for talks between Kan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, they said.
On top of these meetings, Kan will hold a bilateral meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday night. Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.
After wrapping up his meetings with the G-8 leaders, Kan will fly into Brussels, where he will attend a periodic meeting of the leaders of Japan and the European Union on Saturday and fly back home on Sunday, they added.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on May 24, 2011)
