Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ryosei Akazawa, stated that companies including Hitachi Ltd. and SoftBank Group Corp. have expressed interest in participating in investment projects in the United States. He indicated that Japan has decided to take part in three specific US investment initiatives. These include a synthetic diamond project valued at approximately $600 million, a natural gas power generation project worth around $33.3 billion, and a crude oil infrastructure project estimated at $2.1 billion. Hitachi Ltd., SoftBank Group Corp., and Toshiba are interested in the gas power project. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., JFE Holdings, Inc., Nippon Steel Corporation, and Mitsui Offshore Development are considering involvement in the crude oil project. Asahi Diamond Industrial Co., Ltd. and Noritake Co., Limited have been nominated as off-takers for the synthetic diamond project.