International cooperation with Japan

At the invitation of Minister President Winfried Kretschmann, Governor Yūji Kuroiwa of Kanagawa, the Japanese ambassador in Berlin, Takeshi Nakane, and the Japanese consul general in Munich, Hidenao Yanagi, visited Baden-Württemberg with a business delegation. "This is a lovely occasion: 25 years of partnership and a joint memorandum with which we continue the good relations between our regions", said Minister President Winfried Kretschmann at the reception.

"With this memorandum, we will strengthen and maintain our relations in the areas of business, science, technology and education, culture, sports, healthcare and the environment, which we have built up over many years, and make a contribution toward better understanding among ourselves and in the world", Kretschmann affirmed. "Business and science relations will continue to represent the foundation of our partnership".

In the future, Kanagawa and Baden-Württemberg are to cooperate more closely on the further development of renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as in the field of electromobility. Governor Kuroiwa and Minister of the Environment Franz Untersteller agreed to this at their meeting at the Ministry of the Environment.

Furthermore, Baden-Württemberg and Kanagawa wish to take into account the particular challenges posed by demographic change and its effects on the healthcare sector and intensify their future cooperation in this area.

As part of the partnership's anniversary celebrations, the Japanese delegation along with other guests was invited to a reception hosted by the minister president and the Japanese honorary consul Dr. Mathias Kammüller at Trumpf, a company in Ditzingen.

At a business seminar given by the Ministry for Finance and Economics and Kanagawa Prefecture, the participants learned about future developments of Kanagawa as a centre of industry and existing business cooperation. In addition, there were discussions about further potential cooperation. The seminar was organised by Baden-Württemberg International.

The declaration of partnership between Baden-Württemberg and Kanagawa was signed in 1989 by then Minister President Lothar Spuath and Governor Kazuji Nagasu of Kanagawa. On the occasion of 20 years of partnership in 2009, a joint memorandum was agreed with former Minister President Günther Oettinger.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the partnership between Kanagawa and Baden-Württemberg, ten members of the Prefectural Assembly and President of the Prefectural Assembly Shigekyuki Mukasa (LDP) visited Baden-Württemberg from November 10th to 12th.

Key topics were demographic change and the further development of renewable energy. In addition to a meeting with the president of the state parliament, the programme included visits to medical and molecular biology research institutes in Heidelberg regarding the topic of demographic change. With a view to the further development of renewable energy, the delegation visited the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) and discussed the future promotion of solar energy with Minister of the Environment Franz Untersteller.

Headed by Governor Hajime Furuta of Japan's Gifu Prefecture, a delegation of business, science, politics and administration experts visited Baden-Württemberg. The visit was one of a series of other meetings going back to May 2013 in which cooperative relationships were established, especially between educational and research institutions in both regions.

In May 2013, Minister of Science Theresia Bauer and Minister of the Environment Franz Untersteller had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the fields of energy and forestry in Gifu. Both ministers praised the evolution of the partnership and reinforced Baden-Württemberg's interest in deepening and developing the relationship: "In recent months, various promising partnerships have been established between institutions on both sides. The objective of the visit of the governor and his delegation is to discuss specific cooperative research plans".

For example, there are plans in the field of solar energy with Fraunhofer ISE and the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research, ZSW, on the Baden-Württemberg side and Gifu University's CIPS Centre of Innovative Photovoltaic Systems on the Japanese side. Temporary exchanges of researchers and teaching staff in the environmental and energy technology fields would also be conceivable, said Bauer and Untersteller. Furthermore, there are ambitions for cooperation between businesses in the renewable energy and environmental technology fields.

In addition to the energy sector, cooperation in the forestry field has also been a major topic between Baden-Württemberg and Gifu for several years. Thus, representatives of HFR, the university for forestry studies in Rottenburg, and the GAFSC Gifu Academy of Forest Science and Culture, signed an agreement on further cooperation and for the development of collaborate projects.

In addition, Governor Furuta and Minister of the Environment Untersteller were received by the mayor of Ludwigsburg, Werner Spec. The governor signed the city's golden book. Afterwards, the programme included an inspection of Ludwigsburg's biomass-fired combined heat and power plant.

Finally, after a visit to the ZSW, the high-ranking delegation, which in addition to the governor also included the president of the Gifu Prefectural Assembly, Hiroshi Horaguchi, was received by the president of the state parliament, Guido Wolf, and held an expert talk with members of the committee on the environment.

At the invitation of Minister of the Environment Franz Untersteller, the new Japanese consul general for Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, Hidenao Yagani, visited Stuttgart in order to discuss issues of energy policy and the energy sector. Japan and Baden-Württemberg have long maintained close contacts, which have been solidified in recent years, especially in the field of energy policy.

In a roughly one-hour discussion, Minister of the Environment Untersteller acknowledged the lively and trusting exchange between the partners and offered to further intensify cooperation, especially in the area of energy policy: "As a partner, Japan is decidedly important to me; I envision working together even more within the framework of our partnership with Kanagawa Prefecture, the 25th anniversary of which we celebrate this year. The same goes for our relatively new collaboration with Gifu Prefecture on promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency, among other fields".

Untersteller announced that in early November, the governor of Gifu Prefecture would visit Baden-Württemberg with a delegation in order to move forward the implementation of the memorandum of understanding in the field of renewable energy as well as to establish a university partnership in the field of forestry. In mid-November, the 25th anniversary of the partnership between Baden-Württemberg and Kanagawa Prefecture would be celebrated in Stuttgart.

In May 2014, a delegation of the organisation "The Most Beautiful Villages in Japan" (Utsukushii Mura) visited the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector. On their European tour, the participants acquainted themselves with the expansion of renewable energy – especially at the local level through the use of biomass. Moreover, they were interested in the concept of bio energy villages, a few of which they visited at the end.

In the context of a short visit to Baden-Württemberg, Japan's ex-premiere, Naoto Kan, met with Minister of the Environment Franz Untersteller to exchange information on phasing out nuclear power and the energy transition, with a particular focus on expanding the grid and renewable energy. Participants in the discussion also included the Japanese consul general, Akira Mizutani, as well as the secretary general of the Renewable Energy Research Association, Takuo Ono.

Untersteller interpreted the visit as a good sign that Japan's adherence to nuclear energy is by no means sacrosanct: "There are powerful forces in Japan who are just as sceptical of nuclear energy as we are. Naoto Kan, who continues to play an important role in his party and in Japanese politics, is one of them. I am very pleased that he sought out talks with us on the prospects for a phase-out of nuclear energy and on the energy transition".

Central topics of the discussion in Baden-Württemberg's Ministry of the Environment were the necessity of and problems with expansion of the electricity grid, storage technology of the future and the status of the expansion of renewable energy in Baden-Württemberg.

Among other locations in Baden-Württemberg, Naoto Kan and his delegation visited the nuclear power plant in Obrigheim, currently under demolition, as well as the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research in Stuttgart.

The first successful implementation of the MoU took place in March 2014 – not even a year after the memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed – when two delegations of energy and forestry experts from Gifu visited. In the MoU, Gifu and Baden-Württemberg had agreed cooperation between the two regions in the fields of renewable energy and forestry.

Accompanied by the Ministry of the Environment, the delegation of energy experts included employees of the responsible department of the prefecture administration and the director of Gifu University's Centre for Innovative Photovoltaic Systems, Professor Shuichi Nonomura. On its four-day study tour, the delegation acquainted itself with the central topics of biomass and solar energy in discussions and inspections. In addition, various bilateral contacts could be established at the education and research level.

Memorandum of understanding

Minister of the Environment and Energy Sector Franz Untersteller, Minister of Science Theresia Bauer and Governor Hajime Furuta of Gifu Prefecture had signed the MoU in May 2013 during President of the Federal Council Winfried Kretschmann's Japan tour. The objective of cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment is to promote more widespread use of renewable energy sources and measures for increasing energy efficiency. Therefore, both regions agreed to inform each other about approved measures for the promotion of renewable energy and environmental technology and to promote the exchange between educational and research institutions.

On 30 January 2014, a Japanese expert delegation from Kyoto University visited the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector, Baden-Württemberg. The delegation informed itself about the liberalisation of the electricity market and the remunicipalisation of electricity grids. The delegation was given an introduction to the role of the State of Baden-Württemberg within Germany's overall federal structure, the responsibilities and main areas of work of the Ministry of the Environment, and discussed the liberalisation of the electricity market, and in particular the role of the regulatory authority.

As part of their six-day German tour hosted by the Foreign Office from 10 to 16 November, a high-ranking delegation of Japanese parliamentarians also spent three days in Baden-Württemberg, which was both the launch and focal point of the tour.

During their visit to the state, the delegation, comprised of representatives of various parties – from the governing LDP to the Democratic Party of Japan right up to Green Wind – acquainted itself with the topics of energy efficiency and renewable energy. In addition to the founder and speaker of the group for zero nuclear power, Dr. Tomoko Abe, the group also included former justice and environmental minister of Japan, Satsuki Eda.

Continuation of the dialogue begun in Japan

The visit by members of Japan's House of Councillors and House of Representatives, the two chambers of the Japanese Diet, built on the Japan tour undertaken by President of the Federal Council Winfried Kretschmann and Minister of the Environment Franz Untersteller in May 2013. Closer cooperation in the field of renewable energy was agreed at meetings with both chambers and the non-partisan group of parliamentarians for zero nuclear power.

Programme in Baden-Württemberg: Participation in the Resource Efficiency Congress

At the Ministry of the Environment, the Japanese MPs acquainted themselves with the role of the state of Baden-Württemberg within the federal system and its role in the energy transition. They had a discussion on renewable energy with Minister of the Environment and the Energy Sector Franz Untersteller.

Furthermore, there were talks with representatives of the Robert Bosch Foundation, EnBW and the chairman of the committee for the environment in the state parliament, Ulrich Müller (CDU). A visit to the bio energy village, St. Peter, and Fraunhofer ISE (renewable electricity supply) in Freiburg were included in the programme.

The delegation's participation in the Resource Efficiency and Recycling Management Congress was a particular highlight, where keynote speaker Kiyoto Furuta (Canon) and Professor Michiyasu Nakajima, two renowned Japanese experts, spoke on the topic of calculating electricity material costs and their successful implementation in Japanese business practices.

For Minister of the Environment Franz Untersteller, the visit is proof of good, close cooperation in the area of renewable energy and energy efficiency: "When two high-tech locations like Baden-Württemberg and Japan seek out and nurture cooperation in these areas so vital to our future, this can only be advantageous and useful", underscored Untersteller.

Toyota City Mayor Toshihiko Ota visited Southern Baden as part of the informational tour "Energy for Tomorrow – the Energy Transformation at the Local Level" in August 2013. The tour was organised by the Foreign Office for municipal representatives from Japan.

In May 2013 Ota welcomed Minister of the Environment and Energy Sector Franz Untersteller in Toyota City on his Japan and South Korea tour with President of the Federal Council Winfried Kretschmann. Untersteller got to know the Smart City Project, a residential area in which the Japanese are testing a modern lifestyle using renewable energy.

The group accompanying Mayor Ota met with the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector's representative for Japanese affairs, Dr. Mirja Feldmann, in Todtnau. The delegation also included Kawauchi's mayor Yuko Endo from Fukushima Prefecture, who had met with Minister President Kretschmann in Japan in May. The visit in Baden-Württemberg served to intensify the dialogue begun in Japan and to plan another expert exchange on the Smart City Project.

Minister of Transport Winfried Hermann and e-mobil bw, the state agency responsible for electromobility, also visited Toyota City in February 2014. They acquainted themselves with the further development of fuel-cell-driven vehicles as well as with the Smart City Project's mobility, living, and energy supply concept.

As part of the Japan tour with Minister President Winfried Kretschmann, Minister of the Environment Franz Untersteller signed a memorandum of understanding with his colleague, Minister of Science Theresia Bauer and Governor Hajime Furuta of Japan's Gifu Prefecture. "I place great hope in this first step toward cooperation and exchange of information in the area of promoting renewable energy sources", declared Minister Untersteller.

"Just like us, Gifu recognised early on how important the promotion and establishment of a new, green economic sector is for the implementation of successful energy policy", said Franz Untersteller. There are promising opportunities for cooperation and the exchange of ideas between Baden-Württemberg and Gifu, especially in the fields of business and research. With about 2.1 million inhabitants, Gifu Prefecture wants to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 80 % on 1990 levels by the year 2050.

Together with the environmental delegation, the minister visited Ibiden, an innovative company and supplier of many companies in Baden-Württemberg which invented the soot filter, among other things. In addition, he visited several energy projects in the Gifu region, including an energy-producing and energy-saving building, as well as Kukkura Hirugano Energy Park.

Gallery

In February 2013, a delegation of high-ranking Japanese experts visited the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector. The objective of the tour, which also took the delegation to Berlin and Brussels, was to become acquainted with the deregulation of the European electricity market. Deregulation was being planned in Japan at that time.

This delegation included renowned economist Professor Hiroko Ota, former secretary of state for economic and fiscal policy and vice president of the Cabinet Council for Regulatory Reform, which directly advises Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and Professor Tatsuo Hatta, former director of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and an influential government advisor. They are both members of the expert commission on electricity system reform. Kazunori Uchiyama, senior researcher at the Japan Productivity Centre (JPC), was also a member of the delegation. Founded in 1955, the JPC is an influential NGO with the objective of contributing to the socioeconomic development of Japan and the world. The delegation tour was commissioned by the JPC.

The Japanese guests had a lively expert discussion with Director General Helmfried Meinel of the Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector. They heard lectures on the state of Baden-Württemberg within the federal structure, the ministry's responsibilities as well as on the topics of energy and the electricity market. A dinner discussion with Minister Franz Untersteller concluded the tour, and these topics were discussed in more depth – with a particular focus on the role of renewable energy sources.

The discussion which had begun in February 2013 was continued in May 2013 with Professor Hatta and other policy and scientific experts during the Japan tour undertaken by Minister President Winfried Kretschmann and Minister of the Environment Franz Untersteller. Contacts were further developed at a large symposium on the topic of renewable energy and at a meeting with the director of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, which is attached to the Japanese Ministry of Economy.