From workforce to watts: What stayed with me from #JTES
After sharing my reflections on the human connections at the Japan Texas Economic Summit a week or so ago, I wanted to follow up with some of the ideas and insights that stayed with me from the content itself. Texas policy makers and business owners brought an incredible amount of openness and practical insight to the table, and the conversations felt refreshingly grounded in reality.
I joined several breakout sessions, including one on Workforce and another on Space Collaboration. Both were thoughtful and future facing. The workforce discussion in particular highlighted how Texas is thinking seriously about talent pipelines, skills development, and regional resilience. The space session reminded me how much overlap there is between Japan and Texas when it comes to long term thinking, public private cooperation, and ambition that spans decades rather than quarters.
Still, the topic that truly stopped me in my tracks was power generation and energy use.
I had no idea just how much energy is required to support modern AI data centers, nor how central Texas has become in generating that power. Hearing Texas leaders speak candidly about scale, capacity, and planning made it very real. AI is not an abstract concept. It is physical. It runs on electricity, land, infrastructure, and contingency planning. Texas is already living that reality.
What made this especially meaningful for me was hearing my client JERA speak about their power strategies in today’s geopolitical climate. The focus was not just on growth or efficiency, but on resilience. How do you ensure the power stays on when supply chains are strained, when geopolitics shift, when assumptions no longer hold? The emphasis on contingency planning and long term stability resonated deeply with a Japanese mindset, and it was striking to see how aligned those concerns were with Texas priorities.
Another moment that captured the confidence and momentum in the room was the announcement around Y’all Street, the Texas Stock Exchange initiative. Even the name carried a sense of humor and local pride, but the message behind it was serious. Texas is positioning itself as a financial and economic force in its own right, and it is doing so with a level of energy and self belief that is hard to ignore.
That energy was everywhere throughout the summit. In the way policy makers spoke plainly and directly. In the way business owners talked about risk without fear. In the way people embraced growth while still acknowledging responsibility. The pun is unavoidable here, but the energy in Texas truly is off the wall.
From a Japan US perspective, what excites me most is how complementary this feels. Japanese companies bring depth, patience, and operational excellence. Texas brings scale, speed, and confidence. When those strengths meet with mutual respect, the possibilities feel very real.
I left Arlington feeling energized, informed, and genuinely optimistic. JTES was not just a snapshot of where things are today, but a preview of what could be built together over time. I am already looking forward to returning next year and continuing these conversations, both the technical ones and the human ones.
There is a lot more to come from Texas, and I am glad to be paying closer attention.
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