On April 18, a roundtable titled “Powering the Tech Revolution: Meeting the Increased Energy Demand” was held at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. The event was co-hosted by the U.S. Embassy, the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC), and the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ).
The U.S. Embassy was represented by Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Joseph M. Young and Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs Evan Felsing. Audrey Yamamoto, President and CEO of USJC, also participated, along with Chairman and CEO Tatsuya Terazawa and Senior Managing Director Ken Koyama of IEEJ. The discussion was moderated by Yasuo Tanabe, Senior Advisor to USJC.
The roundtable brought together approximately 20 participants, including:
- Government officials such as Mr. Erik Jacobs, Senior Advisor at the U.S. State Department’ Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR), and Mr. Shinichi Kihara, Director-General of International Policy on Carbon Neutrality, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
- Representatives from major companies including Amazon, who we are grateful to as the founding strategic partner of USJC’s Climate & Sustainability Leadership Initiative, AWS, Google, Microsoft, NTT, PJM, TEPCO Power Grid, Hokkaido Electric Power, Kyushu Electric Power, GE Vernova, Hitachi GE Nuclear Energy, and Alaska Gas Line Development Corporation
- Industry associations such as the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), think tanks like the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), consulting firms such as Pacific Square and local governments, including Ishikari City.
Discussions were held under the Chatham House Rule to encourage open and candid dialogue.
The conversation explored the challenges and opportunities related to the growing energy demands driven by the rapid expansion of AI and other emerging technologies. In closing, both U.S. and Japanese government representatives expressed their intent to incorporate insights from the discussion into policy development—particularly through the U.S.-Japan Energy Partnership.
This event was held as part of USJC’s Climate & Sustainability Leadership Initiative, which is supported by the Initiative’s Founding Strategic Partner, Amazon.