Kishida: Japan and ASEAN will develop a 10-year strategic plan for the automotive industry

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan and ASEAN will develop a 10-year strategic plan to take a leading position in the next-generation automotive industry.

Speaking at the Nikkei Group's Asia Future Forum dinner on Thursday (May 23), Kishida said: "The global automotive industry is currently undergoing a revolutionary change. The next decade will be a critical period in determining who wins this competition."

He revealed that Japan will announce a 10-year automotive strategy until 2035 this autumn.

"The automotive industry is a symbol of the long-term economic partnership between Japan and ASEAN countries," Kishida said, adding that the strategy aims to ensure that ASEAN remains at the heart of the new global automotive industry.

He said Japan will work with the ASEAN Economic Research Center for East Asia (ERIA) to present a vision for the automotive industry in the next decade and a strategy to become a hub for hybrid, electric and other environmentally friendly vehicles.

In addition, the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC), initiated by Japan, will hold its second leaders' meeting in Jakarta this August. Japan held its first leaders' meeting last December.

Kishida said the upcoming leaders' meeting will announce initiatives on AZEC, including cooperation in technology, finance, institutions and human resources in the power, transport and industrial sectors, which "is the key to achieving decarbonisation".

Japan will also help local and ASEAN artificial intelligence (AI) startups build AI infrastructure in the region, aiming to train 100,000 highly skilled people in AI and semiconductors over the next five years.