Moreover, the governments of related countries are working together to review logistics infrastructure development in India and the ASEAN countries and enhancement in smoothness of freight transportation in Russia, etc, which is being strongly requested by the private sector.

## (3) Assistance in the environment and safety sectors

In the environmental sector, in order to push forward the utilization of a Clean Development Mechanism in terms of infrastructure based on the Kyoto Protocol, environmental development is being implemented through technical review meetings and seminars held inside and outside the country. Moreover, measures are being implemented for contributing to the training of automobile executives in Asia and the improvement of urban public transport in the ASEAN countries.

In the safety sector, the technical assistance is being provided to Indonesia for training that contributes to improving the aircraft accident investigation level. In addition, targeting the executives in charge of safety, expert assembly and group training on air and port security, the Japan Coast Guard is also actively pushing forward similar human resource development and is implementing training for the purpose of improving the abilities of the coast guard agencies in Asia.

Regarding the assistance provided for disaster measures, the Japan Coast Guard is ready to participate in the rescue team that is dispatched as the Japan Disaster Relief Team, while both MLIT and the Japan Coast Guard are participating in the expert team. Additionally, they also take part in the government investigation group of disaster areas. Experts from various fields are being dispatched to participate in the survey group regarding the earthquake in the Padang offing of West Sumatra in Indonesia, the cyclone damages in Bangladesh and Myanmar, and the problems related to climate change in Tuvalu.

Furthermore, the dispatch of experts, technical assistance and training are being implemented for the purpose of technology transfer in several countries in various fields including city, river, road, residential housing, map, railway, maritime and climate.

## (4) Measures towards the promotion of infrastructure development projects through public-private partnership overseas

Expecting huge infrastructure demand in the developing countries, there is an increasing importance of infrastructure development methods utilizing the know-how and financial power of the private sector. Under such circumstances, in order to encourage the participation of Japanese enterprises in infrastructure development through public-private partnership (PPP), the Public-Private Workshop on Vietnamese Expressways and the Mongolia_Government-Private Workshop on Water Resources were carried out, in which the cooperation system was reviewed. In Vietnam, Seminars on Expressway Development were held and discussed three times, the measures for resolving the issues found in projects in which Japan participated were put into an action plan, and the final report was summarized.

## (5) International development of the construction and transport industries

Although there is a medium or long-term decreasing trend of domestic construction investment, it is expected that there will be continuous strong demand for infrastructure development in Asian countries. In order to continue the development of our construction industry, the active advancement towards the overseas construction market is requested. However, the rate of revenue from projects outside Japan remains at about 20% even for the major super general contractors.

Therefore, our country is strengthening the international competitiveness of the construction industry and carrying out measures for public-private cooperation for working out the reception of large-scale projects from overseas, talent training for performing their abilities on international construction projects, and support for individual enterprises with difficult risks.

Additionally, the consulting window (overseas construction hotline) was established in the ministry, with which Japanese private companies can consult on the construction skills and management of overseas construction projects. In order to resolve the problems and push forward the overseas development of our construction industry, agreements with the government-related institutions of partner countries are being negotiated, in cooperation with the related institutions (e.g. the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) in Vietnam etc.

It is predicted that the world’s water business market will be expected to reach 100 trillion yen by 2025 and our country is putting effort in the overseas business development of our outstanding water-related technology. In April 2009, industry, educational institutions and the government cooperatively established the Japan Global Center for Urban Sanitation (GCUS), which discusses topics such as public-private cooperation seminars and international standardization. Furthermore, in order to support the overseas business development of domestic water-related enterprises, MLIT has collected and provided information on the world’s water business and the water resources of Japan and foreign countries. Moreover, MLIT invited the Minister of Construction of Vietnam in February 2010 to strengthen the cooperative relationship with Vietnam and to promote our advanced technology through seminars as well as top sales among MLIT, GCUS, industry, educational institutions and the government.

Regarding transport industries, measures are being implemented to introduce Japanese railway technologies overseas amid the ongoing globalization of the economy. In particular, measures are being carried out for introducing our Shinkansen technology into the high-speed rail projects of the United States, Brazil and Vietnam. Those technologies have advantages such as their energy-saving functionality, safety, security, and enable high frequency and mass transport. In January 2010, MLIT officers including the Vice Minister and the parliamentary secretary traveled to the United States and Brazil, and performed sales activities through holding seminars and meetings with government executives. In addition, technical cooperation is also being carried out on urban railways, monorails, and new transport systems that contribute to traffic congestion and environmental improvement, and overseas business development is being actively pushed forward. Moreover, with regard to the port business, port development projects in Vietnam are in progress. In the future, at the same time as carrying out cooperation