Before joining IEEJ, he supported the then Minister Yasutoshi NISHIMURA as the Senior Advisor of the Cabinet Office between January and June 2021 to assist the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the formulation of the Growth Strategy including the Japanese “Green New Deal”.

Earlier, he served at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan where he held leading positions including the Vice-Minister for International Affairs. In this role, he assisted the then Prime Minister Shinzo ABE, participating in many of the meetings with the leaders of the world. He also played a crucial role in the coordination for the 2019 G20 Osaka Summit. Through September 2011 to December 2012, he served as the Executive Secretary to the then Prime Minister Yoshihiko NODA. During this period, he assisted the Prime Minister on the Government’s multiple challenges to deal with the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

He has been the Senior Specially Appointed Professor at the Tokyo University of Science, teaching international negotiations since January 2020. He is a graduate of the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law. He also studied at Harvard University in the United States, where he earned MBA in 1990. He was born in January 1961 in Osaka, Japan.

Elizabeth's research examines the strategic role of the state in the green energy shift, with a special focus on the dimensions and dynamics of green energy statecraft in Northeast Asia and Australia. She has written widely on these topics for academic and popular audiences. Her most recent co-authored book Developmental Environmentalism (Oxford University Press, 2023) provides the first comprehensive account of East Asia’s green energy shift and its geo-economic and geo-strategic implications for Australia and the globe. The book has been praised by leading policy and scholarly figures, including former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who describes it as "essential reading for scholars and policymakers". 

Elizabeth is currently a Chief Investigator on three major collaborative grants: an Australian Research Council Discovery Project examining East Asia’s Clean Energy Transition, an Academy of Korean Studies Laboratory Project Grant examining Korea’s past, present and future economic development trajectory, and an Australian Department of Defence Strategic Policy Grant examining Weaponised Trade and its implications for Australia. Since 2008, Elizabeth has served as a Board Member of the Jubilee Australia Research Centre, a NGO dedicated to research-based advocacy on questions of social, economic and environmental justice in the Asia-Pacific, with a particular focus on promoting Australian government and corporate accountability. Elizabeth is passionate about collaborating with policy and business leaders to turbocharge the transition to a green energy future.

Katerina is an experienced public servant and has worked across policy, industry development and investment roles. Most recently, Katerina has worked in investment attraction at Invest Victoria and Breakthrough Victoria. At Invest Victoria, Katerina was the Market Lead for inbound investments from Japan and Korea and project manager for the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) pilot project, with an increased focus on energy investments targeting biogas, alternative fuels, hydrogen and new energy technologies.

As the Director of Investment Strategy at Breakthrough Victoria, Katerina developed the investment strategy across a number of verticals, including energy and climate tech.