On Tuesday, October 6, 2026, the Office of the City of Yokohama Representative to the Americas hosted “Beyond the Pilot: Building U.S.–Japan Climate Tech Projects” in Palo Alto, California, during SF Tech Week 2026. The event aimed to promote business collaboration between Japan and the United States in the climate technology sector.

Held as part of the office’s Yokohama Climate Tech Gateway Program, this was the second edition of the event on the U.S. West Coast, following last year’s gathering. A total of 56 participants from Japanese and U.S. companies, startups, investment firms, financial institutions, and government-related organizations attended the event at Dorsey & Whitney LLP.

Moving from proof of concept (PoC) to commercialization and business expansion is a key challenge in climate tech, requiring corporate partnerships, demonstration opportunities, and access to financing. The program addressed these issues through reverse pitches by Japanese companies, a panel discussion, and networking.

Four Japanese companies took part in the reverse pitch session: Japan Airlines Ventures, Obayashi Corporation, Resonac, and Chiyoda International. They introduced their business areas, technology needs, and potential opportunities to collaborate with startups, creating a forum to connect innovative technologies in the United States with the business capabilities of Japanese companies.

The panel discussion, “Beyond Venture Capital: Building U.S.–Japan Climate Tech Projects,” featured Mai Miyaoka of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Don Danh of East West Bank, and Porter Wong of CleanLeap. Kevin Ninomiya of ShibuLA Ventures served as moderator.

Panelists discussed how public-sector support, corporate resources, and private capital can be combined to advance climate tech commercialization. The discussion also explored the conditions needed to move from demonstration projects to viable businesses and ways to strengthen collaboration between Japanese and U.S. companies.

Following the sessions, a networking reception provided participants with an opportunity to exchange ideas on potential business partnerships and future collaboration.

The event was made possible through venue support from Dorsey & Whitney LLP, sponsorship from Pocari Sweat and OoMee, and cooperation from CleanLeap, ShibuLA Ventures, and Bank of Yokohama.

The City of Yokohama Representative Office to the Americas has been building networks in the U.S.–Japan climate tech sector through events in New York and online seminars. Building on this second West Coast event, the office will continue to strengthen ties with companies, investors, and startups across the United States, supporting the North American expansion of Yokohama-based businesses, cross-border collaboration, and efforts to attract international companies to Yokohama.