Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday ordered ministers to formulate a basic strategy by the end of the year for creating an emissions-free "hydrogen society," while calling for a greater effort to increase the use of renewable energy.

The government is expected to create a system for speeding up construction of hydrogen stations, with the aim of getting 40,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road by 2020, including through regulatory changes.

Abe also called for more cooperation among government offices to develop international hydrogen supply chains and introduce full-scale hydrogen power generation.

"The building of global hydrogen supply chains will be led by hydrogen power generation, which creates massive and stable demand," Abe said.

Environment Minister Koichi Yamamoto separately told a news conference that his ministry will begin drawing up a long-term strategy for significantly increasing renewable energy use by 2030.

The move comes as Japan seeks to strengthen measures to fight global warming based on the Paris Agreement on climate change.

By next spring, a team within the ministry will compile a road map for reforms to increase solar and biomass power generation as well as for introducing necessary technologies, Yamamoto said.

While Japan has already set a target of raising the ratio of its renewable energy power supply to 22 to 24 percent by 2030, roughly double the current figure, the ministry will consider whether it can raise the target under the new strategy.