Japan seeking to expand environment business market to Y100 tril

Japan plans to seek to expand the environment business market to 100 trillion yen by 2015, about 1.4 times the 2006 level, to increase jobs in the area by 800,000 to 2.2 million, government sources said Monday. Prime Minister Taro Aso is expected to order Environment Minister Tetsuo Saito on Tuesday to compile the project, under which Japan seeks to prop up the economy by promoting measures to curb global warming, they said.

The project is aimed at curbing carbon dioxide emissions by the use of energy-saving products and investment in environment-related industries, they said. Among measures under consideration are interest-free loans for companies investing in environment-related fields and systems to encourage the purchase of energy-saving electric appliances and electric cars, they said. Promotion of energy-saving housing units, the use of renewable energy for street lights, support for car sharing and the launch of solar power generation at local government halls are also under consideration, they said.