Agenda
Governing Complex Energy Systems:
Challenges and Strategies for Japan and the UK
Wednesday 6 May 2015
16.30-19.15
This event will consider lessons from governance failure following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident
in Japan. It will highlight the role of popular opinion and interest groups in the debate, and discuss the
nature of government decision-making in the country. In the run-up to the general election in the UK, the
event will also consider issues of energy and democracy, both in the UK and Japan, to establish whether
public needs can be reflected within current governance structures, and what the alternatives might be.
This event is co-hosted by the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation and supported by the Daiwa AngloJapanese Foundation.
16.30
Introduction
John Swenson-Wright, Head, Asia Programme, Chatham House
16.40
Panel discussion: Governing complex systems of energy in Japan and the UK
Moderator: Barak Kushner, Senior Lecturer in Modern Japanese History, Department of
East Asian Studies, University of Cambridge
Failures of governance and the Fukushima nuclear accident: what this means for the
Japanese energy sector
Kazuto Suzuki, Professor, Public Policy School, Hokkaido University
Government decision-making in Japan: the role of popular opinion and interest groups
John Swenson-Wright, Head, Asia Programme, Chatham House
Energy and democracy: UK perspectives
Alistair Buchanan, Partner, KPMG LLP
Energy and democracy: Japanese perspectives
Yoichi Funabashi, Chairman, Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation
18.30
Drinks reception
19.15
End
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