Merkel to discuss Germany's nuclear exit, cooperation on renewable energy during Japan trip

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she plans to use her upcoming trip to Japan to discuss how Berlin and Tokyo can cooperate to expand the use of renewable energy.

Merkel will visit Japan on Monday and Tuesday as part of a series of bilateral meetings with G-7 leaders ahead of a June summit in Germany.

Germany sped up its exit from nuclear energy after Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011.

Merkel said in a weekly online address Saturday that Germany was "now strongly emphasizing renewable energy. And I believe Japan should go down this road too — and it is."

Japan's nuclear reactors were shut down after the Fukushima incident. But the government plans to restart some to aid the country's economy, which relies on imported sources of energy.