The United States and Japan, the two largest consumers of energy, face new challenges today to redefine concepts of "energy security" in an uncertain global marketplace. In an immediate context of adequate supplies, the challenge is to put in place policies for the long-term that promote clean, efficient energy development and use. The fundamental dilemma for these and other industrial societies is whether to embrace market-oriented policies that promote deregulation domestically and greater private-sector led cooperation internationally. By comparing their approaches to policy issues relating to deregulation and international energy development, this study will analyze change and continuity in Japanese policy, highlight differences and similarities in US and Japanese policies, and analyze implications for meeting Asia's energy needs in the decade ahead.