Key points
- Japan points its next US projects at power
- Two rounds announced total $109 billion
- Nuclear and gas plants dominate round two
- No AI-compute or chipmaking project named
Japan's trade minister said the next projects under his country's $550 billion investment pledge to the United States will likely center on the power industry, and that next-generation nuclear could come back onto the list. Two rounds have been announced so far, worth up to $109 billion between them.
Neither announced round names an AI-compute or semiconductor-manufacturing project. Ryosei Akazawa said those sectors would carry "very significant weight" in later discussions. Nikkei Asia published the interview on September 12.
What the two rounds would fund
The first round, announced in February, identified projects worth up to $36 billion in US oil, gas and critical minerals, including development of a natural gas facility in Ohio. The second came on March 20, during Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's first US visit as leader, and totals up to $73 billion across three projects.
The power money sits in that second round. Up to $40 billion goes to small modular reactors built by GE Vernova (GEV) and Hitachi (HTHIY) in Tennessee and Alabama, according to the joint announcement. Up to $33 billion goes to natural gas generation in Texas and Pennsylvania.
GE Vernova ended the second quarter with 116 gigawatts of gas-power equipment backlog and slot-reservation agreements, against an annualized turbine-output target of 20 gigawatts in the third quarter.
What Akazawa said about AI and chips
Akazawa declined to give details on further projects when he spoke to reporters in Washington on September 4, after meeting Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. "As the presence of AI and semiconductor industries grows, we're continuing to develop and implement projects that contribute to mutual benefits," he said.
He has also said the money is not reserved for Japanese or American companies. A Taiwanese chipmaker building a US plant with Japanese components would qualify, Akazawa told public broadcaster NHK.
How the pledge is structured
The $550 billion is not a pot of cash. Japan committed it as a mix of investments, loans and loan guarantees available through the end of Trump's second term, under the Japan-US tariff agreement concluded last year and the related investment memorandum. Akazawa said both sides also confirmed that no tariffs would be added beyond the terms of that agreement.
GE Vernova closed Friday at $957.27, up 46% since the start of the year. Hitachi's US-listed shares closed at $34.21, up 10%. Korean builders are chasing the same work, and Kepco and its engineering arm rose on a reported $130 billion proposal for eight US reactors this month.
Akazawa did not say when additional projects would be announced.
