International Railway Promotion Council, Conference of Oversea Port Logistics Projects, and the International Eco-City Council).

One measure from FY 2012 was the Third Conference of Oversea Port Logistics Projects held in July and a Myanmar working group was established to promote port and logistics projects in Myanmar. In February 2013 the Fourth International Water Infrastructure PPP Council was hosted and high officials and others from the four countries of Indonesia, Myanmar, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam were invited to the council and in addition to sharing the needs and water infrastructure development plans, the technology and expertise of Japanese companies were highlighted. Also, in the same month the Fourth International Road PPP Council was held and information was exchanged on road projects in Myanmar and the technology and expertise of Japanese companies was shared.

## 3 Active Promotion of Soft Infrastructure

Soft infrastructure such as the frameworks, standards, technology, and operational expertise accumulated in Japan is being spread to the world and internationally standardized to foster an environment that allows Japanese companies to penetrate international markets. Specifically, automobile standard certification frameworks, implementation support for the Port and Harbor Electronic Data Interchange (EDI, an electronic system to handle port related procedures), logistics systems, air traffic control systems, disaster prevention package, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), and Green Building/City technology (measures to spread environmentally friendly architecture and cities) are all being promoted abroad.

## 4 Supporting the International Expansion of Japanese Companies Through Funding

MLIT is working to strengthen the support framework for the financial aspects of exporting the infrastructure of Japanese companies. And in 2010 high-speed railways, urban railways, and the water sector were added to the fields that Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) could fund investments in industrialized nations. The first JBIC investment after such investment funding in high-speed rail projects was made possible was to the UK high-speed railway carriage renewal project (see the Column, Japan's Railway System Making a Successful Homecoming to the United Kingdom, the Birthplace of Railways After 140 Years).

Also, as a contact window for Japanese companies regarding issues with construction technology and management for international construction projects, MLIT established a “overseas construction hotline” to not only of advice but to conduct talks with foreign governments based on the consultation to ensure that Japanese construction companies can continue to expand abroad in a stable manner.

Also, for the purpose of supporting the improvement of procurement, safety, quality control and other aspects of project oversight abilities in developing countries, seminars to share our expertise in aspects like bidding contracts, construction safety, and quality assurance were held in July 2012 in Cambodia and September in Vietnam.

Additionally, to achieve the objective of over 2 trillion yen in new contracts awarded abroad per year to the construction industry by 2020, measures are being implemented such as establishing an international construction market database, gathering information on the construction industry from diplomatic missions, strategic thinking for construction companies to participate in international PPP projects, strengthening human resource development, and strengthening contracts and risk management.

## Column

## Promoting the Export of Infrastructure Systems in the Airport Sector - Package Support for Airport Development, Operation, and Management in Vietnam's Noi Bai International Airport -

Japan accumulated world-class technology and rich experience and expertise for the development, operation, and management in the course of conquering various issues following rapid economic expansion such as increased demand for air travel and the shortage of airport capacity that it created. MLIT is using this strength to its maximum advantage to provide a total solution that matches the other nation's needs from