Japan and the United States on the 28th released the areas of interest for Japanese corporations' investment in the U.S., timed to the schedule of President Donald Trump, who is visiting the United States.
That afternoon, the Japanese government posted a "joint fact sheet on investment between Japan and the United States" on its government website and presented four key sectors that Japanese corporations are reviewing as potential U.S. investment targets: energy, artificial intelligence (AI) power development, strengthening AI infrastructure, and critical minerals.
According to Kyodo News and NHK, the total size of the projects drawing interest from Japanese corporations comes to about $400 billion (about 575 trillion won). More than 10 major corporations, including Hitachi, Toshiba, Panasonic, Mitsubishi Electric, and SoftBank Group, were named.
The largest projects are energy-related ventures by Westinghouse and GE Vernova-Hitachi (GVH), each worth $100 billion (about 144 trillion won). For Westinghouse, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Toshiba, and IHI are considering taking part in construction of AP1000 reactors and small modular reactors (SMRs), while Hitachi is showing strong interest in GVH's SMR project. GVH is a joint venture between General Electric (GE) and Hitachi.
Earlier, in July, Japan pledged U.S.-bound investments totaling $550 billion (about 791 trillion won) when it reached a trade deal with the United States. The latest fact sheet effectively presents the candidate project groups.
The proposed Japanese investment projects are under review by the investment committee under the U.S. Department of Commerce, and specific investment destinations have not yet been finalized.
U.S. Commerce Minister Howard Lutnick said in an interview with Nikkei the previous day that "more than half of Japan's investment in the U.S. could go to the electricity and energy development institutional sector."
However, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said the fact sheet lists corporations that expressed interest in the projects and that whether to proceed with the investments has not yet been decided.
Meanwhile, Minister Lutnick hosted a signing ceremony that day, inviting representatives of corporations interested in investing. The event was attended by SoftBank Group Chairman Son Jeong-ui, as well as executives from major corporations including Hitachi, Panasonic, Mitsubishi Electric, and Toshiba.
The two countries also signed a memorandum that day to strengthen cooperation in shipbuilding. President Trump boarded the U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington with Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and said the United States and Japan will work closely together in the shipbuilding industry.
Bloomberg reported that President Trump said, "I heard from Prime Minister Takaichi that Toyota Motor will also build plants worth roughly $10 billion (about 14.3 trillion won) across the United States."