2009 Reports

Japan's Solar and Wind Ambitions: How Bright Is the U.S. Market? The Tenth Annual Mitsui USA Symposium

The Center on Japanese Economy and Business, with the support of the Mitsui USA Foundation, organized the symposium "Japan's Solar and Wind Ambitions: How Promising Is the U.S. Market?" The event marked the 10th anniversary of the Mitsui USA Foundation's sponsored symposia at Columbia Business School and was the first to include a remote audience of Columbia Business School's alumni association in Tokyo via interactive webcast. Columbia Business School's Energy Club, Green Business Club, and Japan Business Association cosponsored the event. One hundred forty people were present to hear the views of David Kaltsas, executive vice president of the Distributed PowerGroup at SunWize Technologies; ChristopherStolarski, senior vice president of the Project Finance Department of Mizuho Corporate Bank; and Gen Hajime Ito, president of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) New York. Geoffrey Heal, Paul Garrett Professor of Public Policy and Business Responsibility at Columbia Business School and director of the Center for Globalization and Sustainable Development at Columbia University's Earth Institute, served as the commentator, and Hugh Patrick, director of the Center on Japanese Economy and Business and R.D. Calkins Professor of International Business Emeritus, Columbia Business School, opened the symposium with introductory remarks and moderated the discussion.