The Office of the City of Yokohama Representative to the Americas works to build networks with North American companies, investors, startups, and other stakeholders, connecting these relationships to the international expansion of Yokohama-based companies, cross-border business collaboration, and business attraction to Yokohama. Climate tech—an area experiencing significant investment and technological development worldwide—is one of the Office’s priority fields.

The climate-tech market is undergoing major changes, driven in part by the rapid adoption of AI, growing electricity demand, and increased investment in energy infrastructure. To help translate these developments into new business partnerships between Japan and the United States, the Americas Office hosted an online event titled “Capital, Climate, and the Next Industrial Transformation”

The event was organized as part of the Office’s efforts to promote collaboration in climate tech between Japanese companies and North American companies, investors, startups, and other stakeholders. It attracted 57 registrants, primarily from Japan and North America, representing corporations, investors, corporate venture capital firms, financial institutions, climate-tech and deep-tech startups, government agencies, municipalities, and innovation-support organizations.

The program opened with a presentation by Maria Ichizawa of Morgan Stanley on market trends surrounding climate innovation and sustainable finance. This was followed by a panel discussion featuring Chiaki Nakajima of Impact Science Ventures and Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka of Geodesic Capital, moderated by Kevin M. Ninomiya of ShibuLA Ventures.

The panel discussed the growth in energy demand and infrastructure investment associated with the expansion of AI, ongoing changes in industrial structures, the commercialization of climate-related technologies, and opportunities for collaboration between Japanese and U.S. companies and North America’s innovation ecosystem.

The Americas Office continues to build long-term relationships with companies, investors, startups, and support organizations across North America. Through major opportunities such as Climate Week NYC, the Office will continue to showcase Yokohama’s initiatives, engage with North America’s innovation ecosystem, attract companies to Yokohama, and promote collaboration and new business creation between Yokohama-based and North American companies.

The next online event, “The Future of the Chemical Industry,” will be held on August 25 and will focus on innovation and startup collaboration in the chemical industry. On September 25, the Office also plans to host the “Global Forum on Circular Economy & Urban Resilience” in Manhattan during Climate Week NYC 2026. Through these initiatives, the Office will further expand innovation partnerships between Japan and the United States, with Yokohama serving as a key connection point.