Jacinda Ardern in Japan speaks on soaring inflation; launches hydrogen-powered car initiative; tries Japanese calligraphy

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O'Connor with the Kiwi Brothers at a Zespri event in Tokyo. Photo / Derek Cheng

The soaring inflation that is hitting Kiwis is a global issue, Jacinda Ardern says.

The Prime Minister is speaking to media on her first day in Japan and was asked about New Zealand's soaring cost of living.

Annual inflation has hit 6.9 per cent for the year to March 31, the largest movement since a 7.6 per cent annual increase in the year to the June 1990 quarter, StatsNZ said earlier today.

The figure was lower than some economists had feared with forecasts of up to 7.4 per cent.

"We can see around the world that other countries are experiencing this exact same issue," the Prime Minister said this afternoon.

"It's impacting everyone. The question for us is: What can we do to ease that pressure."

She said the fuel excise cuts and public transport subsidies were among steps already taken to address inflation in New Zealand.

Ardern said she was grateful to be able to visit Japan, and the voyage was also a reminder of the pandemic's ongoing disruption of global travel.

"The borders here in Japan are not generally open, in terms of tourism coming and going."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O'Connor with the Kiwi Brothers at a Zespri event in Tokyo. Photo / Derek Cheng

Ardern said her discussions this evening with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will focus on tariffs and trade agreements, as well as geopolitical concerns including Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

She said it was important to support multilateral diplomacy.

"We in many ways have common values with Japan. They are... as disturbed by we are at what's happening in Ukraine."

Asked about Japan's relations with China, Ardern said it was commonly understood that China had been increasingly assertive recently.

Japan was also concerned about an escalation of security tensions in the Pacific, she said.

"We want de-escalation, we want diplomacy."

Hydrogen-powered EV partnership for car-pooling in Auckland

Meanwhile a new partnership between New Zealand and Japan is hoped to boost the hydrogen-powered electric vehicle fleet in New Zealand.

On her first day in Japan, Ardern was joined by the head of Toyota NZ Neeraj Lala as he announced the launch of a hydrogen-powered car-sharing scheme in Auckland.

It will feature a fleet of the Toyota Mirai – which uses zero-emission fuel cell technology - being shared by eight New Zealand companies in a car-pooling trial - the Warehouse, Air New Zealand, Saatchi & Saatchi, TVNZ, Beca, Westpac NZ, Spark, and Z Energy.

"New Zealand, like Japan, is embarking on a journey to become carbon neutral by 2050," Ardern said at an event at the iconic Tokyo Tower.

"Hydrogen powered-vehicles are one way we can reduce the emissions of our car fleet."

Lala said hydrogen-powered EVs for sale widely in New Zealand was probably still a decade away, given the current stage of infrastructure building.

"The process for hydrogen will take some time, and in the light vehicle market is still very much on battery EVs. For us, the hydrogen technology piece is to help grow the hydrogen economy in New Zealand and test the technology.

"We're not looking at selling these cars, because obviously the cost of the cars plus the cost of the refuel and the availability of the refuelling currently does not exist.

"But from a commercial application will be quite significant."

The Government is already using $20 million from its Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund to roll-out refuelling stations for heavy freight hydrogen trucks.

These are built by New Zealand company Hiringa and Japanese partner Mitsui & Co, and are due to begin to appear in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Palmerston North later this year.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern trying her hand at Japanese calligraphy with the character for 'kiwifruit'. Photo / Derek Cheng

Electric vehicle sales have boomed since the implementation of the Government's clean car discount in July last year, which was criticised as a ute-tax and impractical, given there were few if any electric utes on the market at the time.

Between January and June 2021, total EV sales in New Zealand were 1670, but they jumped threefold for the period from July to December.

The same increase happened for EV plug-in hybrids.

"Electric vehicles are also key to meeting our climate change targets and I encourage Japanese manufacturers to take advantage of the significant incentives we have in place to accelerate the uptake of EVs in New Zealand," Ardern said.

She welcomed Japanese companies investing in New Zealand and partnering with New Zealand companies.

Hydrogen infrastructure is being developed in New Zealand by Japan's Obayashi Corporation, which in partnership with Tuaropaki Trust opened New Zealand's first-ever green hydrogen production plant.

Obayashi has also partnered with Ports of Auckland to develop a green hydrogen production facility and refuelling infrastructure.

Ardern also announced a New Zealand consortium, led by GNS, opening an office in Tokyo to develop geothermal energy technologies in Japan. It will look to develop technology to extract lithium for car batteries in the future.

"We need to significantly transform our economy to get there, and Japan is a natural partner for us to achieve that in areas like geothermal energy and transport," Ardern said.

Ardern tests negative for Covid-19

She started the day at a promotional event for Zespri, which exports $600 million worth of kiwifruit to Japan each year.

The event featured traditional Japanese music and the Kiwi Brothers - two people dressed in full-length green and gold kiwifruit suits.

"It was a flashback," she joked when asked about the dancing kiwifruit mascots.

"I'm very happy to have the opportunity to support our exporters, and sometimes it means you'll find yourself doing the odd quirky thing."

She also tried her hand at calligraphy while Trade Minister Damien O'Connor decorated a pavlova with kiwifruit.

She arrived in Tokyo last night and cleared the first hurdle on the Japan leg of her overseas trip, testing negative for Covid-19.

Japan continues to have strict Covid-19 rules, and Ardern needed a negative PCR pre-departure test as well as a negative PCR on-arrival test.

She was greeted at Haneda Airport by Japan's Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shingo Miyake, Japanese Ambassador to New Zealand Koichi Ito, and senior officials from Japan's Foreign Ministry.

While in Singapore, three of the 50-strong delegation tested positive for Covid-19, meaning they weren't allowed into Japan, even though their infections were thought to be historical.

Her partner Clarke Gayford also didn't fly to Japan as he was only joining the delegation for the Singapore leg.

All of the delegation that flew to Japan last night have tested negative, a spokesperson from the Prime Minister's office confirmed this morning.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O'Connor in Tokyo after landing late last night. Photo / Supplied

Later tonight she will have her first meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, where the presence of China in the Pacific will be high on the agenda.

Ardern is yet to speak to Kishida, who became Japanese Prime Minister just over six months ago.

Japan supports a free and open Indo-Pacific, based on the peace and stability in the region, economic prosperity, and promoting the rule of law and the freedom of navigation.

Responding to questions yesterday about China and the Solomons security pact, Ardern repeated her concerns about the possible militarisation of the Pacific region

She had not raised it directly with China's President Xi Jinping, but it had been raised consistently at the officials' level.

"There are some leaders you simply don't drop a Whatsapp to. I would consider President Xi and President Biden to be among those."

Ardern called on the Solomon Islands to rely on the partners it has always had for security, saying New Zealand and other countries were ready and able to meet those security needs.

"There is no need for this agreement they have signed."

Ardern denied New Zealand and other countries had dropped the ball and China was simply filling a vacuum.

She said the agreement allowed China to provide security for its own citizens in the Solomons after recent upheavals - but New Zealand and Australian forces had been there to provide that security for all the people there.

The Solomon Islands "absolutely" was in its own sovereign rights to make such a decision - but she pointed to the Biketawa Agreement for countries to work together on security issues.

This agreement had been forged without the other Pacific countries being able to work together on it.