TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Kyodo) Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara urged Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Saturday to buy into Japan's shinkansen technology when his state builds its first high-speed railway system.
"If you adopt the shinkansen system, we will provide all of our knowhow, including station-vicinity development," Japanese officials quoted Maehara as saying during his talks with Scott in Tallahassee, the state's capital.
Scott told Maehara he wants to strengthen economic ties with Japan but stopped short of revealing his position on the railway system, they said.
President Barack Obama is championing the construction of high-speed railway networks across the U.S. as part initiatives to promote clean energy and boost job creation.
But it remains unclear whether the Florida project will go forward because Scott voiced opposition to it in his gubernatorial campaign on the grounds that it runs counter to the policy of small government and would drain taxpayers.
