My previous article mentioned that it is now very difficult to pursue the current Japan’s energy strategies highly depending on nuclear energy because its ‘safety myth’ collapsed as a result of Chernobyl-level radioactive leak from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Further, reducing GHG emissions by 25% by 2020 seems infeasible because its global warming strategies are [...]

On June 6th, according to Jiji press, Japan is likely to abandon its mid-term GHG reduction target. On March 12th, the earthquake and Tsunami attacked the Fukushima nuclear power plant and serious radioactive leak has been taking place since then in Japan. Both electric power companies and the Japanese Government eloquently insisted on the ‘perfect [...]

On 21 July, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced a summary of Japanese Feed in Tariffs (FITs), in which electric power companies are required to buy the electricity generated by all types of renewable sources of energy by households and businesses. FITs seek to promote the adoption of renewable energy sources by offering long-term contracts [...]

On April 1, Tokyo’s Metropolitan Government (TMG) started a cap and trade system, which was the first attempt by a metropolitan area in the world. Further, at the national level, the current administration, led by a coalition composed by the Democratic Party of Japan, the People’s New Party and the Social Democratic Party, proposes a [...]

copyright: Fukui Shinbun Almost one month has passed after Yukio Hatoyama, the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), was appointed as Prime Minister of Japan in September 16. According to a public opinion poll carried out by Yomiuri Shinbun in September 17, 75 percent of its respondents supported the ‘Hatoyama’ cabinet, the second [...]

(c)yomiuri online The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won 308 of the 480 seats though the ruling bloc of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and New Komeito got only 140 seats in the Lower House election on Sunday. This is a landslide victory for DPJ, as DPJ had only 115 seats while the ruling bloc [...]

On 22 July, Shoji Muneoka, the chairman of the Japan Iron and Steal Foundation (JISF), at its regular press conference criticized the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) because its mid-term target of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions by 2020 is not realistic. Compared to the current government led by the coalition of the [...]

©Sankei On 10 June, Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan, pledged that Japan would cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent below the 2005 levels by 2020 (8 percent below the 1990 levels). He expected that, achieving this mid-term target would lead to greenhouse gas emissions reductions approximately by 25 percent by 2030 and [...]

On 30 April, the Ministry of the Environment (MoE) announced the final data regarding the amount of emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the 2007 fiscal year. According to MoE, the amount of GHG emissions in the 2007 fiscal year was approximately 1.37 billion tons (CO2 equivalent), exceeding the amount of GHG emissions in the [...]

On 10 April, the Government and the ruling parties, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and New Komeito, officially compiled the nation’s largest-ever economic package, worth 56.8 trillion yen in total, including 15 trillion yen in fiscal spending. In the new package, they proposed the introduction of the ‘eco-point’ (or eco action point) scheme.  Then, on [...]