US-Japan Energy Relations: Past, Present, and the Future

The Oil Embargo of 1973 began a history of close working relations between the United States and Japan in the area of energy security. The need to diversify energy resources to protect the economies of both countries over the last 50 years has taken many forms. Today, new challenges exist to find affordable, safe, secure energy supplies to meet growing concerns over climate, the security challenges posed by China, and the need to find clean energy for a world population approaching ten billion people by the end of the century. A review of past cooperation provides some perspective as to how we might find solutions for the future.