22/05/2012 (Bernama) - Bilateral trade between Malaysia and Japan is expected to touch a whopping RM150 billion this year as the land of the rising sun continues to source its major raw materials and commodities from Malaysia for its ongoing restructuring efforts, says envoy Shigeru Nakamura.

Japan is in excessive need of natural resources to rebuild the areas affected by last year's devastating earthquake and Tsunami. Judging from the total trade of RM37.7 billion clinched between January and March, Nakamura was confident the forecast could be reached.

"The first three-months shows that we are on track and we should reach the RM150 billion mark," the Japanese ambassador told reporters at a media briefing.

Nakamura said Malaysia's exports registered RM22.3 billion while imports from Japan stood at RM15.3 billion in the first three months of the year.

Trade, which stood at RM145.3 billion last year, was expected to be driven this year by the import of oil and gas, palm oil and natural resources.

He added that Japan's proposed negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership would pave the way for improved trade and investment between both countries, just like the Asean-Japan Free Trade Agreement which benefited Japan and Malaysia.