Multinational company Asahi Kasei’s $1.6-billion investment in a Niagara EV battery separator plant last May has ignited interest among more Japanese companies keen to invest in Ontario’s clean energy space, said Takeshi Matsunaga, the consul-general of Japan, at Toronto Global Forum. “We are now witnessing a large number of Japanese companies coming forward,” Matsunaga said. (The Logic)

Talking point: Japan signed its first-ever “memorandum of cooperation” for building a battery supply chain with the Canadian government last September, which has since spurred interest from Japanese corporations, Matsunaga said. Meanwhile, Japan views Canada as the “most viable, promising and trustworthy candidate” to be a natural gas partner, Matsunaga said, and could help Japan fulfill its demand for natural gas as it moves away from its reliance on Russian energy.