Professor Hisanori Nei is the President and CEO, Japan Underground Oil Storage Co. Ltd which manage about 10% of SPR in Japan with underground storage facilities.
He was a Professor at National Graduate Institute of Policy Studies (GRIPS) since 2014 after over three decades of experience in energy and technology policies at METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry). He still works at GRIPS as Professor Emeritus and Adjunct Professor for Energy Policy since April 2024.
Professor Nei joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in 1981 after graduating from University of Tokyo. At MITI, he served various positions in Japan and overseas, and dedicated his career mainly to energy policies. It includes Executive Director of JETRO Houston from 1997 to 2000.
At METI, he also worked as the director of Middle East and Africa Office, Petroleum Refining and Reserve Division, as well as director of Nuclear Inspection Division at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA).
When Tohoku off- Pacific Earthquake hit the Fukushima-Daiichi, TEPCO, in 2011, he worked more with U.S. mission and coordinated the Government Official Report to the IAEA.
His key research areas are energy policy, nuclear safety policy and the relationship between nuclear development and natural gas market in Asia. Professor Nei has been working to build an effective business ecosystem to encourage clean energy system new ventures including hydrogen, CCS and new nuclear technologies such as fusion.