So you've stumbled upon Power Japan
This is a place to think deeply about Japan's decarbonization and its role in the global energy transition.
The climate crisis is worsening year after year. What is Japan, one of the wealthiest democratic nations, doing to overcome it? How do political leaders and corporate executives in Japan see the clean energy transition? What technologies are emerging in Japan to help the spread of clean energy? How is Japan aiding or hindering decarbonization in other countries, and vice versa? What barriers and opportunities exist?
Power Japan is a place where I wrestle with these questions with you, the reader.
How did it start?
I started Power Japan in early 2023 because of 3 reasons:
My encroaching worries about climate change and the seeming inability of world leaders to firmly address it
My intellectual interest in understanding how governments address complex economic, societal, environmental, and technological challenges (like climate change and the energy transition)
My long-standing fascination with the political economy of my birthplace, Japan
The proximate cause for starting Power Japan came at the end of 2021. When I was in Tokyo to do research for my doctoral dissertation, I started reading about Japan's continued reliance on coal-fired power plants when coal seemed to be on its way out in most other industrialized nations. Why couldn't Japan let go of most polluting of all modern energy sources? That question morphed into some of my early articles on Power Japan.
Who am I?
Oh, right... Introductions.
My name is Walter James. My Japanese name is Motoi Yogi (与儀 基 — Motoi is my given name and Yogi is my family name). I know, two names. Crazy right?
I was born and raised in Okinawa, Japan. If you're not familiar, that's the southwestern-most prefecture made up of many small islands. It's beautiful. Famous for longevity, (in)famous for being the only place in Japan where the US military landed during World War II, famous for its beaches. I could go on.
Sometime during my teenage years, my family and I moved to the US. After a bumpy start, I became serious about my academics. I did my master's at the University of Chicago and PhD at Temple University (in Philadelphia). Both in political science studying Japan's politics and economy.
Does it really take two graduate degrees to do what I'm doing here? Probably not. But I will say that my training in the social sciences foundry for conceptual thought, dogged research, extended focus, thinking deeply about cause and effect, and clear writing. I try to do all of that here.
Okay, I think you get the gist of what Power Japan is about. Go on, start reading.
