The announcement followed talks on the sidelines of the Group of Seven energy and climate meeting in Sapporo last month, where the ministers discussed cooperating on a relaunch of nuclear energy in Japan as a way to meet rising power demand without a spike in greenhouse gas emissions.
“The new flags of this bilateral Franco-Japanese partnership, the Tricolor and the Hinomaru rising sun, wave strongly toward decarbonisation and a stable energy supply,” Nishimura said in a statement.
Japan’s Sankei newspaper reported earlier on Wednesday that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has earmarked some 46 billion yen (US$337 million) over three years beginning in April 2024 to help develop sodium-cooled fast reactors.
The joint declaration came a day after a Paris appeals court allowed the French government to proceed with a buyout of nuclear giant EDF as part of its long-term plan to reinvigorate the nuclear sector and build up to 14 new reactors by 2050.
France this year also signed a bilateral agreement with Britain emphasising nuclear as a low-carbon energy source that could reduce dependence on suppliers like Russia.
