Hirofumi Katase currently serves as Executive Vice Chairman, Director General of Industrial Science and Technology, and a member of I-Pulse’s Board of Directors. He also serves as President and CEO of G-Pulse and I-Pulse Japan, I-Pulse’s operating subsidiary in Japan.
Before joining I-Pulse, Mr. Katase served as Japan’s Vice Minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) until leaving government service in 2017. During his 35-year career at METI, which began in 1982, he held senior leadership roles spanning trade, energy, industrial, technology, and environmental policy. His Director-General appointments included leadership of the Trade Policy Bureau and the Industrial Science and Technology Policy and Environment Bureau, where he oversaw Japan’s industrial technology and decarbonization policies.
Mr. Katase also served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the Strategic Headquarters for Space Policy at the Cabinet Office. In that role, he led the establishment of the Office of National Space Policy, responsible for coordinating the planning and implementation of Japan’s national space policy, and advanced the development and deployment of the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, Japan’s regional satellite navigation system.
Earlier in his METI career, he served for four years as Director of the Oil and Natural Gas Division, overseeing Japan’s upstream oil and gas policy. As Director of the Aerospace and Defense Industry Division, he helped launch the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) program and fostered international partnerships in aircraft and aero-engine development.
Beyond his roles at I-Pulse, Mr. Katase serves as a non-executive director of publicly traded companies, including MinebeaMitsumi Inc. and Ivanhoe Electric Inc. He also serves on the boards of multiple nonprofit public-interest organizations, including the MAZAK Foundation, where he is Chairman of the Board of Directors. The Foundation supports academic research in advanced manufacturing and production technology.
Mr. Katase holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Tokyo and a Master’s degree in Applied Economics from the University of Michigan.