Press Conference by Minister Akazawa (Excerpt)

*Note: This is a provisional translation for reference purposes only.

10:34-10:51 a.m.
Friday, February 20, 2026
Press Conference Room, METI Main Building

Opening Remarks

Reappointment as minister

The day before yesterday, on Wednesday, February 18, I was reappointed by Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae to serve as the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Minister in charge of the Response to the Economic Impact caused by the Nuclear Accident, and the Minister of State for the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation. I was also reappointed to serve as the Minister for Green Transformation, the Minister in charge of Industrial Competitiveness, and the Minister in charge of International Exposition. I will work hard to fulfill my role and would ask for your continued support. Prime Minister Takaichi has provided me with instructions about the following, in addition to the instructions me when I initially assumed these positions last year: comprehensive support measures for the strategic fields that will receive public and private investments and for critical goods for which the enhancement of supply chains is needed; promotion of the Strategy for the Future Regions, business succession at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and improvement of the M&A environment; dissemination of smart cash registers that can flexibly respond to changes in the consumption tax rate; the early societal use of fusion energy and the development of photonics-electronics convergence technologies based on the GX2040 Vision; safe disposal and recycling of solar panels in cooperation with the Minister of the Environment and others; and measures to grasp all opportunities to expand the export of Japanese products, services and infrastructures to like-minded countries. Prime Minister Takaichi is strongly committed to these issues. Accordingly, METI will hold internal meetings as soon as possible for high officials of the Ministry to share necessary information to steadily carry out the prime minister’s instructions, and I will take firm action in leading this process. Additionally, AI transformation is important in boosting and enhancing the Japanese economy. Digital transformation, or DX has already become a widely accepted concept, and for AI transformation, which some call AIX and others AX, I would like to implement a new category of measures to help local SME’s and Small Business accelerate AX toward the establishment of a strong local economy. Moreover, based on physical AI technologies, in which Japan has strengths, I would like to foster AX across all industries, thereby speeding up innovation for Japan to achieve a robust economy and become a new kind of technology-driven nation with international competitiveness, as aimed for by the Takaichi Cabinet. We at METI are also strongly determined to lead crisis-management investments as well as growth investments. We are now facing a mountain of problems. I will utilize my experience to date and, taking into account the instructions of Prime Minister Takaichi, I will do my utmost to fulfill the responsibilities of my position.

Question-and-Answer Session

Japan-U.S. Strategic Investment Initiative

Q: I would like to ask you about the Japan-U.S. Strategic Investment Initiative. Concerning the first set of projects announced the other day, you posted a comment on your X account the day before yesterday that the capital would be recovered fully, including interest and guarantee fees. I think it depends on the interest rates and projected profitability for the projects. But why can you say that the Japanese public and private financial institutions will not suffer loss from the projects? This issue is attracting much attention from the public, and I would like you to again share your views on this in your own words. Also, although you commented that all the invested capital would be recovered, in what exceptional situation do you think the capital might not be fully recovered?

A: First, I would like to explain our basic approach to the 550-billion-dollar investment initiative between Japan and the United States. Japan will invest in the projects that are expected to help the United States establish supply chains in the fields that are important for the country’s economic security. Regarding this, a misunderstanding is spreading that Japan will do whatever the United States asks the country to do, but I must first point out that this is not the case. Second, Japan will fulfill the 550-billion-dollar capital commitment according to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), on which I agreed with U. S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. Some are saying that the U.S. side can use the invested capital freely at its discretion, which is also false. The MOU stipulates that the two countries declare their intention to abide by their respective domestic agreements and laws. I want those who have not yet read the MOU to read it. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Act and the Trade Insurance and Investment Act provide for the principle of balancing income and expenditure. Briefly, based on these two laws, Japan will avoid investments in unprofitable projects. According to the laws, which provide for the principle of balancing income and expenditure, Japan must receive benefits from investments, so we will build win-win-relationships with the U.S. side in principle under the Strategic Investment Initiative, although there are no guarantees that the projects launched under the initiative will never become unprofitable, as unexpected events are always possible, such as natural disasters. We will implement the projects that contribute to the establishment of supply chains in the U.S., which will of course bring benefit to the U.S. side, but we will ensure that Japan will also receive benefits from the investments. In addition, we will avoid launching any unprofitable projects by conducting detailed surveys before the launch in cooperation with the United States. The MOU includes provisions on how we will recover the invested capital, such as the principal, interest and guarantee fees, and we will implement the projects for which we are sure that the invested capital can be recovered. However, as companies in the private sector also participate in the projects, we cannot disclose all relevant details, such as information about the simulations made, but we have been talking with the U.S. side about the full details and feel assured that the projects will bring benefits also to Japan and will not cause any financial losses to the country. The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and METI, including myself, will make a concerted effort with the participation of experts from the JBIC and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) to ensure the strict selection of projects that will not post any losses. It means that Japan will not engage in high-risk, high-return projects. Based on the win-win relations between Japan and the United States, JBIC and NEXI will conduct their business as usual but in a sense on a larger size, which will contribute to the growth of the two entities. Due to the variety of opinions and information being shared online, including substantial misinformation, I aim to share these ideas with more people and when I feel that serious misinformation is reaching large numbers of people online, I will post a comment to correct errors as is my responsibility as a person in charge of the Investment Initiative. I think doing this helps mitigate the concerns of some people affected by the misinformation. However, I am quite busy and cannot always devote myself to identifying and correcting false rumors. I therefore only respond as often as I can. In the post that you mentioned, I refuted the information that Japan cannot fund the first set of projects unless the budget is passed by the Diet within this fiscal year and that if, in the end, Japan cannot fund the projects, the United States will again impose 25-percent tariff on Japan, which puts the country in a difficult situation, and so Prime Minister Takaichi is eager to have the budget approved within the fiscal year. Yet none of this is true. The first set of projects announced under the 550-billion-dollar investment initiative has nothing to do with the Prime Minister’s determination to have the budget passed within the fiscal year. I wanted to state this fact clearly, so I posted a comment on X to refute the misinformation that might be causing undue concern among some people. The guarantees by NEXI for the funding by financial institutions in the private sector and the loans provided by the JBIC are available regardless of the approval of the budget. The Ministry of Finance and METI, which have jurisdiction over JBIC and NEXI, respectively, can press forward with the projects based on the belief that the projects will be profitable and provide the Japanese side with benefits, of which I am also convinced. Some are thinking that Japan is being exploited by the U.S. side due to rumors spread on the Internet, but it is not a fact. We are responsible for the projects. Opposition party members have made comments on this issue at the Diet, and we will steadily continue to respond to their questions going forward.. I also must state that there is no hesitation to answer questions from the opposition as our actions are entirely appropriate and positive. Also, some say that it is doubtful whether Japan can truly recover its invested capital, which is also unfounded. Based on the MOU, we are convinced that JBIC, NEXI and private-sector financial institutions will be able to recover their principal and interest and guarantee fees, so we are pushing ahead with the projects. Our administrative staff has held countless related discussions, and I met Secretary of Commerce Lutnick in person and attended the online meetings of the Consultation Committee. As I have said, at the Committee meetings, both ministerial-level and administrative-level staff proactively contributed to the process. The two countries agreed on the investment initiative on July 22, and the U.S. President signed the executive order on the initiative on September 4, and the first set of projects, three projects, were finally announced on February 18. We spent such a long time to carry out the necessary verification process, and have finally announced the launch of the projects, which will produce benefits for Japan and meet the principle of balancing income and expenditure as required by the domestic laws. There is another misunderstanding spreading throughout the media that Japan is forced to invest in any field that the U.S. side wants the country to invest in, but there are also people who correctly understand the details. I hope that through reviewing the facts and MOU, people will gain a deeper and correct understanding of the investment initiative.

Q: Regarding Japan’s investment in the United States, you have said that it took a long time from the agreement between the two countries to the announcement of the first set of projects. Will it take a long time also for the announcement of the subsequent sets of projects? Or will the process be sped up? Based on what you have experienced and learned while working toward the first set, will the process be sped up for the second set, for which some specific names have been mentioned in addition to the word “next-generation reactor”? Could you elaborate on these matters?

A: Asking about the selection process is very appropriate in this case. For the second set of projects to be structured under the initiative, we will work closely with the U.S. side for the benefit of the two countries. I will refrain from saying when the second set of projects will be announced, but as a negotiator, I will work to further enhance the strong ties built between Prime Minister Takaichi and President Trump to make the Prime Minister’s visit to the U.S. even more fruitful. I will continue to work for the enhancement of the bilateral economic relations for the benefit of Japan and the United States. However, before launching a project, significant discussion will take place to decide on the details including the interest rate and the costs to be included in the project, and the two sides will gradually come to a shared recognition of possible formats for projects, what costs to exclude and various other issues as the initiative proceeds, which I think is what you meant in your question. In short, I think we might be able to shorten the time required for the launch of the second set from a practical standpoint as a person in charge of the initiative.