A draft joint statement that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary and President To Lam will issue at their summit on the 9th became known on the 6th. It commits the two sides to early implementation of power generation projects fueled by liquefied natural gas and to cooperation on Vietnam's plans to introduce nuclear power.
The nuclear line puts Japan back behind an export it has long promoted in Southeast Asia. Vietnam has been working to restart a nuclear program it shelved more than a decade ago, and Japanese companies have been among the bidders for the work.
The LNG commitment covers thermal plants that would run on imported gas, a fuel Japan has marketed to Asian utilities as a lower-emission option than coal. The draft pairs the two energy items without setting out a timetable or a value for either, and the text could still change before the leaders meet.
Takaichi took office in October. The summit with To Lam, who holds both the party's top post and the presidency, would be one of her first with a Southeast Asian leader.