
Japan’s Response to the Issue of Climate Change: An Innovative Transition Towards a Zero-Carbon and Resilient Society
May 28, 2020Author: Kazuo Matsushita
Categories: Japan Looking Ahead
Since climate change is accelerating more rapidly than previously thought, we must swiftly take more robust action. At the same time, investment in sustainable energy sources, clean energy technologies, and infrastructure brings opportunities for innovation, sustainable and inclusive growth, competitiveness, and job creation. Accelerating the virtuous cycle of environmental protection and economic growth is urgent. As an advanced international economy, Japan has to take the lead in this endeavor.
Tags: climate change, decarbonized society, environmental issues, zero-carbon emissions

Cooperation Among Innovative Societies Promotes Competitiveness
June 26, 2019Author: Dr. Phyllis Genther Yoshida, Senior Fellow for Energy and Technology, Sasakawa USA
Categories: Energy and Technology
In this Commentary, Dr. Phyllis Genther Yoshida argues that global competition in trade and investment will increasingly be replaced by competition in innovation. As the world’s first and third largest economies and funders of research, the United States and Japan must fully tap and utilize the knowledge that comes from coordinating and cooperating more strategically bilaterally and multilaterally on the components of innovation. Doing so will help protect the economic and national security positions of not only the United States and Japan, but also our like-minded partners.
Tags: China, economic growth, innovation, Japan, R&D, trade

Japan Should Take a Leadership Role to Address Climate Change: Ambitions for G-20 Action
February 6, 2019Author: Dr. Phyllis Genther Yoshida, Senior Fellow for Energy and Technology, Sasakawa USA
Categories: Energy and Technology
Dr. Phyllis Genther Yoshida is the Senior Fellow for Energy and Technology at Sasakawa USA. In this Commentary, she advocates for Japan to take on a greater global leadership role in fighting climate change. In particular, she sees a role for Japan by demonstrating decoupling domestically and internationally, which to a large extent, means decarbonizing the energy and transportation sectors while providing expanded economic opportunities and energy access.
Tags: Abe, climate change, energy, g20, Japan, Shinzo Abe, us-japan alliance, us-japan relations

Japan’s Changing Electricity Market: Recommendations for Policy Makers
July 5, 2018Author: Tarak Shah, Energy Policy Consultant
Energy policy consultant Tarak Shah participated in the Sasakawa USA 2017-2018 In-Depth Alumni Research Trip to Japan. In this paper, Shah highlights current trends in the Japanese electricity market, notes areas of strength, and outlines specific changes that Japanese policy makers could implement for a safer, cleaner energy future.
Tags: energy, energy policy, Fukushima, Japan, Nuclear, renewable energy

Japan’s Energy Conundrum
June 25, 2018Author: Phyllis Genther Yoshida, Dennis Blair, Robert Alan Feldman, Ken Koyama, Jane Nakano, Llewelyn Hughes, Nobuo Tanaka, Yukari Niwa Yamashita, Michael Smitka, Ken Haig, Jun Arima, Tom Cutler
Sasakawa USA is pleased to bring together an outstanding group of senior scholars, all with extensive knowledge and experience, to analyze and explain the many facets of Tokyo’s energy situation and its intersection with the U.S.-Japan relationship. Japan’s Energy Conundrum provides insights into how Japan is seeking to resolve its current energy conundrum in the aftermath of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.
Tags: energy, Fukushima, Japan, Nuclear, security, us-japan alliance, us-japan relations