Merkel proposes energy cooperation to Keidanren chief

BERLIN, July 6 Kyodo - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the visiting chairman of Japan's largest business lobby at a meeting Wednesday that her country intends to deepen bilateral exchanges in the fields of energy-saving technology and renewable energy, Japanese officials said.
As Germany accelerates its efforts to withdraw from nuclear power generation in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis, Merkel told Hiromasa Yonekura, head of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, that the two countries can cooperate in areas such as energy efficiency and in setting up of power grids, according to the Keidanren officials.
Yonekura and the Keidanren delegation in turn proposed that the two countries promote exchanges of technology, such as on how to utilize electric vehicles in planning environmentally friendly cities, they said.
The Japanese side has also urged Germany to launch an early start of negotiations aimed at concluding an economic partnership agreement between Japan and the European Union, they said.
While the German automobile industry has opposed the free trade agreement for fear of losses due to the removal of tariffs, Yonekura said, ''Automobile industries from both sides should hold talks. That would lead to an early settlement of the issue.''
Merkel, in response, said Yonekura's idea is very good, according to the Japanese officials.