Government Establishes Fuel Policy Planning Office

On 5 January 2004, Japan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy established a Fuel Policy Planning Office as part of the Policy Planning Division of its Natural Resources and Fuel Department. The new office is expected to devise and promote comprehensive fuel policies, including measures to deal with environmental issues.

Conventional fuel-related government policies have so far aimed at the manufacturing, shipping, storage and distribution services provided by fuel suppliers such as the oil industry. This new office will draw up consistent policies that address the research and development activities of fuel consuming industries, including auto manufacturers.

In addition, the office will study the possibilities of developing and promoting new energy sources, such as gas-to-liquid (GTL) fuel, dimethyl ether (DME) fuel and biomass fuel. Based on their findings, the office will set budget priorities to strengthen fuel-related policies. To achieve this, its members include officers from Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry departments in charge of both fuel-supplying and fuel-consuming industries.

The office will offer a one-stop service to provide government information on fuel policy. The service will enable related industries to use information effectively while helping administrative bodies collect information from industries. The establishment of the office is thus expected to contribute to the formulation and promotion of fuel policies through cooperation between the industrial and governmental sectors.



Posted: 2004/04/13 02:54:50 PM
Japanese version