Kikuko has over 20 years of experience in decarbonization project development, carbon credits, and climate finance, with recent work focused on CCS policy, incentive design, and regulatory frameworks.
She currently serves as an expert member of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s working groups on CCS support schemes and CCS business regulations. She also contributed to the development of CCS guidelines under the Joint Crediting Mechanism between Indonesia and Japan, and co-authored the Handbook for CO₂ Cross-Border Transport CCS and Handbook for CCS Carbon Credits, published with JOGMEC.
Kikuko is also active in the Japan CDR Coalition, a business-led initiative supporting the development of CDR markets and policy in Japan. Before joining MRI in 2020, she was a senior consultant in the Environmental Strategy Division of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, where she worked on carbon market development under the Clean Development Mechanism.
She holds a B.A. in Anthropology with a specialization in Urban Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles.
