June 19, 2009: Russia’s state-owned nanotech business group RUSNANO and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) have agreed to establish a “workgroup” to collaborate in nanotechnology, initially to select Japanese nanotech application projects that can be implemented in Russia, according to the according to a statement.

The agreement — announced as RUSNANO officials tour Japan to study the nation’s support for its nanotech industry and innovation, seeking “best practices” will focus on selecting specific projects the two can work on together. Companies being visited on this tour include Hitachi, Toshiba, and Sumitomo, as well as Nippon Keidanren (the Japanese Business Federation) and the city of Tsukuba, seen as a nanotech R&D hub. Alexander Losyukov, RUSNANO deputy director general (and former Russian ambassador to Japan), will spearhead things from the Russian side; Japan’s participation will be helmed by Hideiti Okada, director general of METI’s trade policy department.

Further discussions will involve how to expand the cooperation to include smaller businesses alongside larger ones. The two also are eyeing a follow-up “platform for dialogue,” possibly to coincide with the Nanotechnology International Forum in Moscow scheduled for October.