Yuriko Koike, the Tokyo governor, has urged start-ups, SMEs as well as local governments in Japan, Europe and Kazakhstan to cooperate and pass on best practices on green hydrogen technology in an interview with Euronews while on an official visit to Astana.
Koike stated, “I hope that knowledge sharing in forums like these will further drive innovation and accelerate the hydrogen implementation in various regions. “With the goals of halving emissions by 2030 and achieving zero emissions by 2050, Tokyo is advancing a wide range of initiatives.”
Apparently, green hydrogen is produced when renewable energy, which is typically wind or solar, is used to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen in a procedure called electrolysis.
And it has no carbon emissions, as it uses no fossil fuels, unlike the grey hydrogen made from natural gas, which is responsible for the majority of hydrogen generated today.
A significant challenge for environmentally conscious cities
Green hydrogen is currently costly to produce at scale and following the best practices on green hydrogen requires massive funding for infrastructure like pipelines as well as storage and shipping terminals.
And that is exactly the obstacle that Koike has cited as the rationale for international cooperation and the sharing of knowledge and capital.
“With these gained insights, Tokyo will further enhance efforts toward real-world development of hydrogen,” she added.
She also talked about the difficulties the energy transition poses for major cities and their role in speeding up the green transformation.
Koike discussed with the mayors of Rotterdam as well as Amsterdam the integration of green hydrogen within city infrastructure, the backing of sector start-ups, the strength of cities and integrated port management and hydrogen applications.
“[We] confirmed the importance of major cities collaborating to address common challenges,” Koike said.
It is well to be noted that green hydrogen remains a nascent and costly technology, and its scale-up will need quite prominent state support in addition to private investment.
Governments are the main drivers, notably in Japan, South Korea, the EU, and Australia as well as the Gulf states, investing funds into national hydrogen strategies and subsidies along with infrastructure by means of pipelines, storage facilities, and transportation terminals.
Notably, start-ups and SMEs play an important supporting role, notably for enhancing electrolyser performance and fuel cell design along with niche applications such as urban transport as well as localized energy storage.
Making ties with Kazakhstan robust
Koike held talks with Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Kazakh President, in Astana on future bilateral cooperation between both Kazakhstan and Japan. President Tokayev referred to the forthcoming 10th anniversary of the Enhanced Strategic Partnership between both countries.
“Here in Kazakhstan, we know you as a time-tested friend, partner and dedicated statesperson who made a lot for Kazakh-Japanese relations. For more than 25 years, your initiatives devoted to Kazakhstan’s history and culture have played a unique role in bringing our peoples closer,” Tokayev stated.
Tokyo and Astana entered into an MoU on digital development and urban resilience in December 2025, which was the foundation for multiple discussions during the visit, Koike said in an interview with Euronews.
“President Tokayev and I have a long-standing relationship in promoting exchanges and cooperation between our countries and cities,” she stated, noting that energy security, given the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, was among the problems discussed.
Tokyo’s green transformation start-ups and SMEs and the prospects for their global growth and potential company partnerships were discussed, she told Euronews.
She also visited AlemAI, which happens to be Kazakhstan’s leading Artificial Intelligence center, in the EXPO ecosystem in Astana.
It is a gigantic 20,000-square-meter technology and education hub, built to bring together startups, scientific research, and smart governance so as to speed up the digital transformation of the country.
Koike discovered about sturgeon farming along with caviar production endeavours at the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan and found a connection with projects being implemented on Kozushima Island in Tokyo.
She concluded that “our discussions strengthened the foundation for future potential collaboration.”