This was reported by NHK with reference to Stefan Kramer, adviser to the EU representation in Japan, Ukrinform reported.

The cost of the project, implemented by companies from Japan, the USA and Finland, is about 3 million euros.

The cable is planned to cross the North American portion of the Arctic Ocean, connecting Norway with Alaska and the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, and then Japan as Europe’s gateway to Asia, according to Kramer.

The main reason for the EU’s decision to invest in the new route is the sharp deterioration of relations with Russia, through which one of the three existing data transmission channels to Japan passes.

One of the other two crosses the Pacific Ocean, the US mainland, and the Atlantic, while the other crosses Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, and the Middle East.

Submarine fiber optic cables provide connectivity for a wide variety of events, including online meetings, e-commerce, and social networking.

The new route will make it possible to accelerate data transmission by more than 20 percent compared to existing channels in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

According to preliminary calculations, marine studies of the cable laying route should be completed next year and the new canal should be put into operation in 2026.

As Ukrinform reported, the Japanese government protested Moscow through diplomatic channels in connection with Russia’s ban on the activities of one of the associations of former residents of the Northern Territory.