Mr. Hiroyuki “Hiro” Hatada is Director for Americas Division at the METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry). He is engaged in planning and coordinating the bilateral economic relationships with the U.S. and Canada, and now, he promotes and coordinates cooperative efforts between METI and the US counterparts, including on supply chain resiliency, emerging technologies, and clean energy. Before he took his current position in August, 2020, he drafted and implemented Japan’s industrial policies to promote commercial aviation industry and to maintain and strengthen defense industrial base as Director for Aerospace and Defense Industry Division. Prior to this position, he was
based in Washington D.C from July, 2013 to June, 2016 as Chief Representative, NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization), which is Japan’s largest technology projects management organization and an affiliate of METI. In his role to enhance technology cooperation between the US and Japan, he facilitated
discussion and coordination between industries, academia and public entities of both nations for future cooperative opportunities in such technology areas as robotics and advanced manufacturing. Before his assignment to Washington, DC, he worked for METI and the Ministry of Defense (MOD). While working for METI, he worked on
industry- and technology-related public policies such as waste computer recycling, biofuel quality regulations, promotion of aviation and defense industries, and international development assistance. Also, in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, he played a key role in the US-Japan cooperative effort to deploy robots into the accident site. While working for MOD, he played a central role in starting up the first cooperative development project of defense equipment between Japan and the US, the SM-3 Block II A missile. He holds an MBA degree from Georgetown University and a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Tokyo.
