Japan, US agree to cooperate on geothermal energy

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer

SAPPORO, Japan (AP) — Japan and the United States have agreed to cooperate on developing geothermal energy, one of the most plentiful resources on this volcanic island chain. The memorandum of cooperation was signed Saturday on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of Seven energy and environment ministers in the northern city of Hokkaido. Japan’s famed hot springs reflect its abundant geothermal activity, but the spas and resorts clustered around many of them have hindered efforts to use that resource to generate power. The pact says that geothermal energy is recognized as a “renewable energy technology that the United States and Japan can work together to advance.”