As the global community continues to grapple with the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Atlantic Council is open for business. Our business, meetings, and events, however, are occurring virtually. For more information, please read an update from our President and CEO.

Please join the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center and the Howard Baker Forum for the first of two virtual working group sessions on opportunities for government support for civil nuclear cooperation between the United States and Japan. The session will take place on Thursday, July 16, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. EDT / Friday, July 17, 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. JST.

The Howard Baker Forum will host the U.S.-Japan Roundtable’s Annual Washington Conference in December, in partnership with the Atlantic Council. In preparation for the Annual Washington Conference, the Howard Baker Forum and the Atlantic Council will host two working group sessions that will focus on the current status of civil nuclear cooperation between the United States and Japan, as well as opportunities for nuclear innovation.

The first session will take place on Thursday, July 16, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. EDT / Friday, July 17, 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. JST, and it will highlight the roles of the U.S. and Japanese governments in nuclear cooperation, especially through initiatives like the U.S. Department of Energy’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) and Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s Nuclear Energy x Innovation Promotion (NEXIP). The second of the two working group sessions will take place later in the summer, and it will focus on opportunities to finance nuclear innovation. The discussions and findings of the workshops will be incorporated into an Atlantic Council issue brief that will identify greater opportunities for public- and private-sector nuclear energy cooperation between the United States and Japan.

As countries with established nuclear energy programs are developing small modular reactors (SMRs) and other advanced reactors, the GAIN and NEXIP initiatives have committed to demonstrating and commercializing these new nuclear technologies. Although there are strong frameworks for civil nuclear cooperation between the US and Japan, opportunities exist for both countries to accelerate the pace of development and intensify their collaborative efforts. In this moderated discussion, nuclear experts from the United States and Japan will discuss opportunities and methods to enhance cooperation in regulatory harmonization, co-financing, research and development (R&D), licensing, and reactor demonstration. Join the Atlantic Council Global Energy Center and the Howard Baker Forum for what promises to be a topical and informative discussion.

Please join this conversation via the web application Zoom, which is accessible through your web browser, the Zoom desktop or mobile app, and by phone. Register below to receive further information on how to join the virtual roundtable.

Agenda

Welcome and introduction

Scott Campbell
President, The Howard Baker Forum
Baker Donelson

Keynote remarks

Dr. Rita Baranwal
Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy
US Department of Energy

The Honorable Hirohide Hirai
Deputy Commissioner, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy
Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Japan

Panel discussion

Dr. Ashley Finan
Director, National Reactor Innovation Center
Idaho National Lab

Christine King
Director, Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN)
US Department of Energy

Takeshi Nagasawa
Director, Office for Nuclear Energy Cooperation, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy
Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Japan

Moderated by

Suzanne Jaworowski
Senior Adviser, Office of Nuclear Energy
US Department of Energy

Closing remarks

Minister Takeshi Komoto
Commercial Minister
Embassy of Japan in Washington, DC

Dr. Jennifer Gordon
Managing Editor and Senior Fellow, Global Energy Center
Atlantic Council