Touring the Netherlands and Kazakhstan, Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko has showcased her city’s green hydrogen initiatives at a global conference while promoting cooperation with cities there to address shared challenges and enhance international competitiveness.

She was invited to speak at the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam on May 19 and explained how her megalopolis of 14 million is utilizing the clean energy source. The governor also met with the mayors of Amsterdam and Rotterdam and saw firsthand digitalized and hydrogen-powered operations at the bustling seaports there.

Visiting the Kazakh capital of Astana on state invitation, she held separate talks with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Astana Mayor Zhenis Kassymbek on May 21 and 22. They discussed the prospects for mutually beneficial partnership—at both national and regional levels—in such key areas as digital technology, urban resilience, international finance and education.

‘Very Positive Comments’ About Future of Hydrogen

“I think there were many very positive comments,” Governor Koike told reporters on her return home on May 23 when asked about discussions at the World Hydrogen Summit amid the rising tensions in the Middle East.

“They focused on future hydrogen development and how its mechanisms should work,” she said at Haneda Airport.

“President Tokayev and I have a long-standing relationship in promoting exchanges and cooperation between our countries and cities,” the governor said in an interview in Astana with pan-European TV news network Euronews wrapping up the two-nation tour. She added that they discussed future collaboration between the two sides.

Hydrogen Is a ‘Key Next Generation Energy’

The annual Rotterdam summit, widely recognized as the world’s most influential hydrogen event, attracts some 10,000 attendees, over 300 speakers and more than 4,850 companies as well as over 500 corporate exhibitors, according to its official website. Participants include global executives, policymakers, and investors across diverse industries.

At a panel discussion with senior government officials from Britain and South Africa, Governor Koike shared Tokyo's initiatives to build a chain for supplying green hydrogen, which is produced using renewable energy and generates no carbon emissions. The panel was themed: Governments Stimulating H2 Demand to Meet Climate, Energy & National Security Targets.

“Ever since my post as the Japanese Minister of the Environment, I have positioned hydrogen as a key next-generation energy,” she told the panel, “and have worked to establish this by advocating its potential and importance on the policy frontline.”

Koike was elected as the Japanese capital’s first female governor in July 2016 after serving as a member of national parliament for 24 years and heading the environmental and other ministries along the way.

Hydrogen Targets: ‘Produce, Transport, Use and Connect’

At the session, she introduced initiatives for realizing the targets set under the 2022 Tokyo Hydrogen Vision that aims to halve carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve zero emissions by 2050. “Specifically, Tokyo is implementing its own pioneering initiatives, centering on four key words: produce, transport, use and connect,” she said.

Here are the main points of her remarks:

- Produce: Tokyo’s first hydrogen production base has been in operation. The green hydrogen produced there has been used in fuel-cell vehicles and will soon be used in the manufacture of synthetic methane. It will be utilized as a raw material for fertilizer production in the future. Production capacity will be tripled. A new production base will be built by 2028.

- Transport: Hydrogen transportation initiatives include construction of pipelines to Tokyo. Concrete studies are underway on how to transport not only domestically produced hydrogen but also imported green hydrogen.

- Use: About 150 fuel-cell buses are currently operating in Tokyo. By fiscal year 2030, Tokyo aims to have 5,000 commercial fuel-cell vehicles including trucks and taxis. And this winter, a hydrogen fuel cell-powered ferry boat will start operating in Tokyo.

- Connect: Tokyo has been operating the world’s first green-hydrogen transaction platform on a trial basis since late 2024. It is a step towards establishing a full-fledged market. “These efforts for the local production and consumption of green hydrogen, as well as its sourcing from various countries and regions, will also link directly to strengthening energy security and urban resilience,” she said.

To promote green hydrogen, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has also been annually hosting the Hydrogen Energy Conference for Action (HENCA) since 2023, bringing together key figures from cities worldwide and private-sector executives.