US EPA administrator meets Japan counterpart

The head of the U.S. Environment Protection Agency Michael Regan said Friday that advanced nuclear technology will be "critical" for both the United States and Japan as they step up cooperation to meet decarbonization goals.

Kishida said Japan needs to consider all options of energy mix, including nuclear, to bolster its "green transformation" effort to curb emissions of greenhouse gases and to secure stable energy supply. Japan has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

Japan has faced criticisms for only saying it will phase out fossil fuel use by 2050 without showing clearer timeline. U.S. and Japanese environment heads also agreed to cooperate to speed up global effort to achieve decarbonization efforts, as well as ocean plastic pollution, chemicals and other environmental issues.