SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance organises high-level policy panel on “Navigating Japan’s Energy Transition: Paths to Carbon Neutrality” in Tokyo
Leading experts discuss progress, roadblocks and opportunities of Japan’s energy transition.
The SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance organised a policy panel on “Navigating Japan’s Energy Transition: Paths to Carbon Neutrality” in Tokyo on 28 August 2026. The discussion took place during the Eighth Annual Conference of the SOAS-hosted Japan Economy Network (JEN) held at the Japan Center for Economic Research.
The panel comprised leading experts, including Professor Sean Kidney, the CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative and Professor in Practice for Sustainable Finance and Investment at SOAS; Maiko Morishita, Vice President of Sustainable Solutions at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Cooperation; Yasuaki Yoneyama, the Director of Finance and Sustainability at the GX Acceleration Agency; and Aina Urano Menneken, Policy Specialist at UN PRI. The panel was moderated by Professor Ulrich Volz, the Director of the SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance.
The discussion underscored the high-stakes push to accelerate Japan’s low-carbon transformation, unpacking both the market opportunities and the complex roadblocks in its path. Panellists also mapped out the crucial policy moves required to unlock a wave of capital into Japan’s clean energy future.
During the conference, Dr Harald Heubaum, the Deputy Director of the Centre for Sustainable Finance, presented new research on “Carbon Pricing as Industrial Policy? The Case of Japan's GX-ETS”.
Header image credit: Chelsea via Unsplash.
