Japan and South Korea have announced plans to create tens of thousands of new jobs aimed at boosting the economy while protecting the environment.

The Japanese environment ministry says it is preparing a so-called "Green New Deal Plan" to create at least one million new jobs in energy-saving and other environment-friendly technologies.

The plan could include incentives to encourage the production and purchase of electric cars and energy-efficient household electronics.

South Korea's government Tuesday also unveiled a so-called Green New Job Creation Plan, expected to create 960,000 new jobs. About 140,000 new jobs are targeted for this year.

Officials say they will invest about $38 billion in the next few years to clean-up the country's four main rivers, maintain forests, develop cleaner transportation and conserve energy.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, Bloomberg and Reuters.