Kuala Lumpur: Japan will lead a high-powered delegation to Malaysia next week to discuss deepening cooperation in the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) to achieve decarbonisation, economic growth and energy security. Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia, Noriyuki Shikata, said increased cooperation with Malaysia is significant in mobilising collective action in developing green energy and sustainable technologies, bilaterally, regionally and globally. The delegation, to be here on May 5 and 6, is a follow-up to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's visit to Malaysia in January this year, where both he and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim agreed to deepen AZEC collaboration.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the delegation would be led by former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida - a special envoy of the Japanese Prime Minister and the architect of AZEC, as well as former ministers from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. As ASEAN Chair this year, Malaysia will play a pivotal role this October in co-hosting both the AZEC ministerial and leaders' meetings with Japan, underscoring its centrality to the initiative. The aim is to brand 2025 an 'AZEC Year', catalysing additional flagship projects that can serve as templates across the region.
AZEC, which comprises 11 countries, including Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, aims to achieve carbon neutrality with Japan's technological expertise. Highlighting Japan's AZEC vision and its importance to Malaysia, Shikata said Putrajaya could leverage Japan's clean-tech expertise, advancing the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) to facilitate Malaysia's transition to a low-carbon and sustainable energy system.
He noted that proposals for Malaysia and Japan to work together closely on green energy and sustainable technologies are more relevant, with Malaysia set to host the largest number of data centres regionally. All nations grapple with the trilemma of achieving decarbonisation, growth and energy security, a challenge particularly acute in dynamic Asian economies. This was why Japan proposed the AZEC framework in 2022 to mobilise collective action.
Shikata emphasized Malaysia's robust GDP growth and its sincere commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050, making it an indispensable partner for Japan. While Malaysia is rich in natural gas, it is equally poised to lead in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and green-hydrogen projects, serving as models for other AZEC members. He lauded Malaysia for being the second largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan for more than 30 years. To achieve commercial viability, more Japanese companies with cutting-edge green technologies are keen to deploy them to Malaysia and the region to reap economies of scale.
Elaborating on priority bilateral areas to advance AZEC, Shikata noted Malaysia's subsurface formations are ideally suited for underground CO2 storage, drawing on existing natural-gas infrastructure. He cited how abundant, low-cost hydropower in Sarawak is already attracting investors and enabling green-hydrogen development. Japan also stands ready to support Sarawak-Peninsular interconnection under the ASEAN Power Grid initiative.
He said many flagship ventures are structured as joint endeavours between Japanese firms and PETRONAS or Tenaga Nasional Bhd, blending technology with local acumen. Such collaboration positions Malaysia to co-venture with other AZEC partners, amplifying benefits across the community. Malaysia's advanced portfolio has emerged as a regional benchmark, reflecting its attractiveness to investors.
In mainstreaming emerging technologies, Shikata said energy-efficiency projects could be integrated into everyday life without delay, and Japanese firms hold a comparative advantage in this field. Japan's Chitose Group is involved in a microalgae carbon capture facility in Sarawak to cultivate algae for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, creating jobs and contributing to the state's green energy agenda.
Touching on hybrid vehicles, a Japanese forte offering greater life-cycle CO2 reductions than battery electric vehicles, he said the widespread adoption of Perodua models developed with Japanese know-how, along with Toyota and Honda hybrids, could advance economic growth and decarbonisation while preserving Malaysia's existing automotive ecosystem. Hydrogen, ammonia and CCS are now entering full-scale deployment, leveraging Japan's technological edge, which is why the two countries should jointly drive the forthcoming phase of expanding both supply and demand, Shikata concluded.