Japan, U.S. Start Talks on Tokyo’s $550 Bil. Investment in U.S.; Energy, AI Projects Were Focus of 1st Meeting

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:42 JST, December 19, 2025

Japan and the United States held their first meeting to discuss investment projects regarding Japan’s pledge to invest $550 billion in the United States, the Japanese government said Thursday. The amount was agreed upon during bilateral tariff negotiations earlier this year.

The online meeting appeared to focus on projects related to energy and artificial intelligence. Several more meetings are expected to take place to narrow down projects.

According to a Japanese government source, Thursday’s meeting lasted about an hour and was attended by directors general from the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, the Foreign Ministry and the Finance Ministry as well as executives from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. From the U.S. side, officials from the Commerce Department and the Energy Department took part in the meeting.

The Joint Fact Sheet for Japan-U.S. Investment compiled in October listed 21 projects, which involve Japanese and U.S. companies, as potential investments. The projects include construction of small modular reactors and power infrastructure for data centers.

According to the source, the meeting focused on the listed projects.

The Japanese side will assess profitability and risk.

After the meetings, a U.S. investment committee will recommend certain projects to U.S. President Donald Trump, who will make the final decision.