Japan's Energy Policy and Nuclear Power Issues
| Pages | 122-128 |
| Date | 01 February 2020 |
| Published date | 01 February 2020 |
| DOI | 10.3366/gels.2020.0011 |
Eight years on after the great earthquake, the Japanese government has appealed to the people, ‘We need restart the nuclear power plant, which has been stopped since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011. The reason is that if we do not cover 20% to 25% of Japan's energy consumption by nuclear power, the self-sufficiency rate of Japan remains low, which is a threat for energy security, and secondly, the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target promised in the Paris Agreement cannot be achieved.’
In a report entitled ‘Energy Problems Facing Japan’, published in August 2019,
Japan's energy self-sufficiency was 20.3% before the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, but the ratio became 6.7% in 2012 due to the closure of most Japanese nuclear power plants thereafter. The figure recovered to 9.6% in 2017, but was still extremely low at 34th out of 35 OECD countries. The high reliance on foreign energy resources has made it difficult for Japan to secure energy stability due to the changeable international situation, especially due to the fact that 88% of Japan's crude oil supply is dependent on the instable Middle East. In 2018, Japan's reliance on foreign supplied energy was 99.7% for oil, 97.5% for LNG, and 99.3% for coal.
Japan's energy self-sufficiency ratio in 2017 was 20.3% in 2010 before the Great East Japan Earthquake, but became 6.7% in 2012 due to the stoppage of the nuclear power plant after the earthquake. After that, it recovered to 9.6% in 2017, but it is still extremely low at 34th out of 35 OECD countries. If you depend on other countries for energy resources, it is difficult to secure energy stability due to the influence of the international situation. In 2018, Japan's dependence on fossil fuels is 99.7% for oil, 97.5% for LNG, and 99.3% for coal. Crude oil, in particular, is about 88% dependent on the Middle East, but the political situation in this region is not stable. Recently there was an incident where a ship navigating the Strait of Holmes was attacked.
Electricity charges increased by 16% for households and 21% for industries in FY2017 in Japan compared to before the Great East Japan Earthquake. The factor is the ‘Feed in Tariff System (FIT)’ introduced in 2012 to promote renewable energy after the stop of nuclear power plants. As a result, the installed capacity of renewable energy increased rapidly, while the purchase cost of renewable energy reached 3.6 trillion yen. Some of them are included in the electricity bill.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction is an urgent issue to combat global warming, but as more power sources use fossil fuels, GHG will increase. Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan's GHG emissions have increased, reaching 1.4 billion tons in 2013, a record high. Although it decreased to 1.3 billion tons in FY2017, further efforts are needed to achieve the GHG reduction target set by Japan based on the Paris Agreement (by 2630, a reduction of 26% compared to FY2013).
To achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and realize the energy mix of 2030, it is necessary to further reduce the use of fossil fuels. In the ‘Fifth Energy Basic Plan’ announced by Japanese government in 2018, the goal was to reduce GHG by 80% by 2050. To achieve this, energy saving and innovation are necessary. As energy sources, it is important to consider all options such as renewable energy, nuclear power, hydrogen, and storage batteries.
The ratio of renewable energy in Japan's power generation is 16% as of 2017 (8.1% excluding hydropower), which is lower than in major countries. In order to make renewable energy a stable power source for the long term, it is...
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