Japanese Industry Minister Ken Saito will visit Akita in northern Japan on Saturday to discuss the development of offshore wind power with industry and government officials, the ministry said on Tuesday.
The move aligns with Japan's increased efforts to boost the deployment of renewable energy, especially offshore wind farms, to meet its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Akita is a leading region involved in the development of offshore wind power.
The trip marks Saito's first visit to an offshore wind farm and is aimed at inspecting facilities in Akita and discussing experiences and challenges of such development with local officials, an official at the ministry said.
Saito will visit an offshore wind farm at Akita Port, developed and operated by a consortium led by Japanese trading company Marubeni Corp 8002.T. It is Japan's first large-scale commercial offshore wind power project.
He will then meet with local officials, including the governor of Akita prefecture.
Japan's offshore wind power market is set to grow as the government eyes developing up to 10 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030, and up to 45 GW by 2040.
The government approved a draft amendment in March to existing legislation to allow for the installation of offshore wind power in exclusive economic zones (EEZ), a milestone towards expanding Japan's wind power development potential.
(Reuters - Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Kim Coghill)