Tokyo governor touts hydrogen push on Europe, Central Asia trip

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike used visits to the Netherlands and Kazakhstan to promote Tokyo’s green hydrogen strategy and deepen ties on digital innovation, resilience and education. The trip highlighted Tokyo’s effort to turn its hydrogen plan into a broader energy-security and city-partnership strategy.

Why it matters: - Tokyo is using green hydrogen as a climate tool and a competitiveness play. - Koike’s trip connected Tokyo’s energy policy with overseas port operations, city partnerships and megacity cooperation. - The talks also touched on resilience, digital technology and education, which are central to how large cities are trying to adapt.

What happened: - Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko spoke at the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam on May 19. - Koike met Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema on May 18 and Rotterdam Mayor Carola Schouten on May 19. - Koike visited Astana on state invitation and met Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on May 22. - Koike also met Astana Mayor Zhenis Kassymbek on May 21 and 22. - Koike returned to Tokyo and spoke to reporters at Haneda Airport on May 23.

The details: - Koike told the Rotterdam summit that Tokyo is building a green hydrogen supply chain. - The summit drew about 10,000 attendees, more than 300 speakers, more than 4,850 companies and over 500 corporate exhibitors, according to the event’s website. - Koike joined a panel with senior government officials from Britain and South Africa on how governments can stimulate hydrogen demand to meet climate, energy and national security targets. - Tokyo’s 2022 Hydrogen Vision aims to halve carbon emissions by 2030 and reach zero emissions by 2050. - Tokyo’s hydrogen plan centers on four steps: produce, transport, use and connect. - Tokyo’s first hydrogen production base is operating now. - The green hydrogen from that base is already used in fuel-cell vehicles and will soon be used to make synthetic methane. - Tokyo plans to use the hydrogen as a raw material for fertilizer production in the future. - Production capacity will be tripled. - Tokyo will build a new production base by 2028. - Tokyo is studying pipelines to bring hydrogen into the city. - Those studies include both domestically produced hydrogen and imported green hydrogen. - About 150 fuel-cell buses are operating in Tokyo. - Tokyo wants 5,000 commercial fuel-cell vehicles, including trucks and taxis, by fiscal 2030. - A hydrogen fuel cell-powered ferry boat is set to begin operating in Tokyo this winter. - Tokyo has run the world’s first green-hydrogen transaction platform on a trial basis since late 2024. - The platform is meant to help establish a full market. - Tokyo has hosted the Hydrogen Energy Conference for Action, or HENCA, annually since 2023. - The conference brings together city leaders and private-sector executives. - Koike said local production, local consumption and sourcing hydrogen from multiple regions can strengthen energy security and urban resilience. - In Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Koike said she exchanged views on green hydrogen, urban resilience and startup support. - Koike toured Growy Amsterdam, a fully automated vertical farm using AI, robotics and renewable energy. - She also visited Floating Farm in Rotterdam, which produces milk and yogurt from 40 cows on a floating platform in the port. - Tokyo has organized the Global City Network for Sustainability, or G-NETS, since 2022. - Amsterdam and Rotterdam participate in G-NETS. - G-NETS is part of SusHi Tech Tokyo, which Tokyo has hosted since 2023. - In January, Koike became chair of the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative. - In Astana, Koike and Tokayev discussed cooperation in digital technology, international finance and education. - Koike said Kazakhstan is a key hub of the Middle Corridor linking Europe and Asia. - Tokayev said he has been closely exploring Tokyo’s smart city initiative. - Tokayev said Kazakhstan wants to deepen cooperation and exchange expertise on managing a megacity like Tokyo. - Koike and Kassymbek discussed digital initiatives, disaster preparedness and urban resilience. - Their meeting built on a memorandum of understanding signed in Tokyo last December, with Tokayev witnessing the signing. - Koike also visited Alem.ai, an international center for AI education, research and entrepreneurship. - Koike met Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov and heard about sturgeon farming and caviar production. - Tokyo is pursuing a project to harvest caviar on Kozushima, one of its outlying islands. - At a Tokyo-Kazakh business-matching event, Tokyo startups and small and midsize firms pitched green transformation, decarbonization, renewable energy, drone technology and biofuel technology. - Koike visited Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools and said she observed STEM education, English-language instruction and inquiry-based learning.

Between the lines: - Koike is pairing climate policy with city diplomacy, using hydrogen as the headline issue but widening the agenda to include port logistics, startup support and smart-city management. - The Netherlands portion of the trip shows Tokyo looking for practical operating models in ports and urban farming. - The Kazakhstan meetings suggest Tokyo also sees value in partnerships outside the traditional energy discussion, especially in digitalization and education. - Tokyo’s emphasis on hydrogen market-building signals that the city is trying to move from pilot projects to a broader commercial system.

What's next: - Tokyo plans to expand hydrogen production capacity and add a new production base by 2028. - The city is also moving toward more hydrogen transport infrastructure and a larger fleet of fuel-cell vehicles. - Tokyo will keep using HENCA and G-NETS to advance city-to-city cooperation on sustainability. - Koike’s discussions in Kazakhstan and the Netherlands set up further collaboration on smart cities, resilience and energy transition.