Energy Security and Sustainability in Japan (original) (raw)
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Japan’s Energy Security Predicament Post-Fukushima
Energy Policy, 2012
If energy security is defined as the availability of energy at all times in various forms, in sufficient quantities and at affordable prices, without unacceptable or irreversible impact on the economy and the environment, Japan is facing an energy security predicament. For a country that was already uneasy about energy security, the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which caused a nuclear catastrophe in TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, turned this unease into outright anxiety. With the temporary and/or permanent closure of many nuclear reactors Japan has had to replace lost power. Tokyo has had no choice but to secure additional fossil fuels, a strategy that has negatively affected Japan’s economy due to rising fuel costs. The increase in Japan’s fossil fuel consumption has also caused a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions, and affected Tokyo’s commitment to Kyoto targets. This paper analyzes the consequences of the 2011 nuclear disaster for Japan’s energy security. Recognizing that Japan’s future energy policy choices are constrained and path dependent, the paper outlines energy policy recommendations for Japan’s government.
Towards a sustainable climate and energy policy mix: insights from theory and the case of Japan
Environmental Pricing
The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and rapid global warming emphasize the necessity of reorganizing our energy system; but how do we get there? Energy and climate policy are obviously interlinked, e.g. via carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions from fossil fuel burning in electricity generation. Policy targets are interdependent, sometimes even contradicting: The environmental soundness of current energy use has been seriously challenged by nuclear contamination and by greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction barriers from low coal prices, power grid insufficiencies, and oligopolistic market structures. Energy security has been threatened by military conflicts and volatile resource prices, while carbon pricing has made energy use more expensive. In order to achieve the variety of climate and energy policy targets, a multitude of instruments has been implemented: market-based programs such as carbon cap-and-trade or energy taxes, commandand-control policies such as energy efficiency standards, support schemes such as feed-in tariffs. Obviously these policies directly affect each other: Climate policy cap-and-trade makes electricity generation from fossil fuels more expensive and increases electricity prices. Energy policy feed-in tariffs change the relative prices in power production and make carbon free technologies more attractive. Also, the low-cost provision of electricity has been heavily debated in the face of trade-offs between policy induced power price increases and the call for a fair distribution of energy transformation burdens. 2 Discussion Paper presented at the 15 th Global Conference on Environmental Taxation (GCET 15),
Changing Mood on Japanese Energy Policy Trends
Japanese energy consumption is among the top three in the world and nevertheless the country lacks significant domestic energy resources and mostly imports include substantial amount of crude oil, natural gas and other energy resources. Japan's reliance on the import of fuel energy was felt more than ever after the Second World War when Japan tried to join the rank of the powerful industrialized countries. Today, Japan is the world's fifth largest energy consumer, and a resource-poor country, which imports close to all of its fossil fuel requirements. Large demand to meet its energy needs and high import dependence has made energy security one of the top priorities of any government in Tokyo. For this reason, it is a great necessity that the Japanese policy-makers try to find long-term adjustments and solutions to maintain its national energy security. The main aim of this research is to analyze the Japan's current energy security situations and scrutinize its future energy options after the Fukushima nuclear incident. Then I will put my hypothesis which is Japan's possible responses towards the alternative energy strategies considering its rising regional competitors China and India.
2011
For much of the 20th century, economic growth was fueled by cheap oil-based energy supply. Due to increasing resource constraints, however, the political and strategic importance of oil has become a significant part of energy and foreign policy making in East and Southeast Asian countries. In Japan, the rise of China’s economic and military power is a source of considerable concern. To enhance energy security, the Japanese government has amended its energy regulatory framework, which reveals high political awareness of risks resulting from the looming key resources shortage and competition over access. An essential understanding that national energy security is a politically and economically sensitive area with a clear international dimension affecting everyday life is critical in shaping Japan’s energy future. The direction of the country’s nuclear future after the 11 March 2011 triple disaster including the malfunctioning of the Fukushima nuclear power plant is still unclear.
Social Science Japan Journal, 2013
Genshiryoku hatsuden o dō suru ka (What to do about nuclear power generation?), by Takeo Kikkawa. Nagoya: Nagoya University Press, 2011, 181 pp., ¥2,520 plus tax (ISBN 978-4-815-80679-8) Seishinron nuki no denryoku nyūmon (An introduction to electric power without the emotionalism), by Akihiro Sawa. Tokyo: Shinchosha, 2012, 207 pp., ¥735 plus tax (ISBN 978-4-106-10483-1) Kokumin no tame no enerug ī genron (The principles of energy for the Japanese people), by Kazuhiro Ueta and Hisashi Kajiyama. Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Shimbun Shuppansha, 2011, 318 pp., ¥2,100 plus tax (ISBN 978-4-532-35497-8) Genshiryoku no shakaishi (A social history of nuclear power), by Hitoshi Yoshioka. Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun Shuppan, 2012, 399 pp., ¥1,995 plus tax (ISBN 978-4-022-59983-4)
Japan’s Energy Transition 10 Years after the Fukushima Nuclear Accident: Special Issue Introduction
Social Science Japan Journal, 2021
The five papers together shine a light on the driving forces behind Japan’s energy transition – civil society or vested interest – and identify two noteworthy patterns at play since 2011. First, the papers by Watanabe and Koppenborg point to Japan’s pro-nuclear ‘iron triangle’ drifting apart, as LDP lawmakers supported the 2011 FIT Law out of self-interest and electric utilities’ nuclear safety investment decision undercut the government’s 2030 nuclear energy targets. Second, there are signs that, in fact, all energy politics is local. Hymans identifies onsen owners as veto players in geothermal electricity development, Koppenborg points to citizen groups’ class-action lawsuits against nuclear reactor restarts, and Kameyama highlights the recent emergence of both non-state and sub state actors as decarbonization drivers. As the paper by Satoh and Weiss argues, these developments challenge some prominent conceptualizations of Japan’s civil society in which hierarchical networks enable the state to shape public interest. In light of the 10th anniversary of 3.11 and Prime Minister Suga’s recent announcement that Japan will work towards carbon neutrality by 2050, we hope that this special issue will inspire further research on the drivers of Japan’s inevitable energy transition.
Japan's energy conundrum: Post-Fukushima scenarios from a life cycle perspective
We developed a LCA integrated scenario approach to estimate environmental and economic co-benefits of energy mixes in Japan. Renewable rise and fossil fuel dependence reduction leads to LCA emissions decrease up to 34%. A balance between renewables and nuclear power is a desirable alternative, from an economic, environmental and security of supply perspective. Levelized costs of renewables are competitive with nuclear power.
Japan's 2014 Strategic Energy Plan: A Planned Energy System Transition
This study is a review and analysis of the Japanese government's 2014 Strategic Energy Plan (SEP). As the first plan to be issued after the Fukushima disaster of March 2011, the 2014 plan incorporates policies that represent the most comprehensive and systematic changes ever proposed for Japan's energy system. The study reviews the key elements of the plan, employing a framework that explains the nature and magnitude of the changes planned for Japan's energy system and related institutions. The analysis demonstrates that the shock of the triple disaster opened up a window of opportunity in Japan's policy environment for a fundamental change in energy policy, allowing for major reforms to the energy industrial structure and energy institutions. A unique aspect of this study is that it draws upon in-person interviews conducted with key government officials who were directly involved in the formulation of the SEP, providing new insights into Japan's energy policy planning process and the drivers behind the planned reforms. Given the nature and magnitude of the potential changes implied in the SEP, this paper concludes that the 2014 SEP is best understood as a comprehensive blueprint toward a major planned transition of the Japanese energy system.