President Joe Biden met with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Japan this week and released a statement on a number of issues, including ethanol.
Prime Minister Kishida and President Biden welcomed Japan’s commitment to take all available measures to double demand for bioethanol, including for sustainable aviation fuel and on-road fuel, by 2030 to reduce dependence on imported petroleum.
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) thanked U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel for his continued support in expanding the potential for ethanol use in Japan.
“Expansion of bioethanol use in Japan is a strategic goal for the Council,” said USGC Vice President Cary Sifferath. “Ambassador Emanuel and his team at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo have been an essential partner for USGC to discuss the benefits of increased biofuels use to the Japanese consumer and a way for Japan to meet its carbon reduction goals.”
USGC President and CEO Ryan LeGrand and Sifferath traveled to Tokyo this March for the first time in more than two years. While there, they met with Council staff and government and industry representatives, discussing the five commodities represented by the Council and the country’s continued support of their uses.
Ethanol was a major topic of discussion while in Japan, as the Council leaders met with several organizations and Ambassador Emanuel on the potential for the expanded use of ethanol in the country.
So far in the 2021/2022 marketing year, Japan ranks as the fourth-largest export market for U.S. coarse grains, co-products, ethanol and meat products, purchasing 7,521,368 metric tons (296,101,215 bushels in corn equivalent).