Agenda
Challenges
Since Japan has relied on imports for almost entire volumes of oil it needs as a strategic commodity, the oil industry operations centring on refining and marketing have been placed under a variety of government controls for nearly half a century without being exposed to international competition.
Japan has virtually no domestic oil or natural gas reserves and is the second-largest net importer of crude oil and largest net importer of liquefied natural gas in the world. Including nuclear power, Japan is still only 16 percent energy self-sufficient.
Climate Change
From the perspective of both supply and climate security, the current energy system and the policies that shape it are therefore highly unsustainable, and need to be changed radically. Supporters of nuclear power believe that it should play an increasingly important role in this new, highly efficient, zero emissions energy sector, as they argue that all low-CO2 emission technologies will be needed.
Of all the world's industrial nations, Japan's task in meeting targets set in the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 are perhaps the most formidable. Its economy is stagnant while its carbon emissions per unit of industrial output are already the world's lowest, yet the government has committed to a 6% reduction in greenhouse gases, which is only a 1% smaller reduction than that proposed for the United States.
Political
Japan’s revised energy policy is moving forward. Japanese government released an interim report that vows to reduce reliance on atomic energy, officially shifting its energy policy away from nuclear power.
Status
International Standing
Japan had made aggressive commitments to reduce carbon emissions, and despite broad targets for renewable energy, the reality was that these depended largely on plans for new nuclear power stations - plans which, in May, Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced would be scrapped entirely. So Japan finds itself not just dealing with a supply crunch, but also having to develop an entire new energy policy on the fly, from the ground up.
Japan responded aggressively to the threat posed by last century’s oil shocks. As a result, by 1990 it was the world leader in several key clean energy technologies, including batteries, heat pumps, fuel cells, mass transportation and solar power. Since 2000 Japan’s leadership has been overtaken by Germany, Denmark, Spain, China, even in some cases the US.
Import/Export
With no oil or natural gas, and very little coal, Japan has historically depended on imported fuels to sustain its economy. After the oil shocks of the 1970s and 1980s, the nation embarked on focused and intensive programs to increase the security and diversity of its energy supplies. One component of these efforts was to increase the efficiency with which energy is used.
Composition
Use
Japan has few domestic energy resources and is only 16 percent energy self-sufficient. Japan is the third largest oil consumer in the world behind the United States and China and the third largest net importer of crude oil. It is the world's largest importer of both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal.
Japan was forced to become relatively energy efficient because it has very little domestic supplies of what are known as conventional energy sources. This industrial powerhouse meets the bulk of its energy demand by importing nuclear and fossil fuels, supplemented by a small amount of domestic oil and gas production, as well as some hydro and geothermal power. Japan’s total primary energy consumption in 1999 stood at just over 22,970 Petajoules. Of this, 18,500 Petajoules (80%) was imported as nuclear and fossil fuels.
Research and Development
Status
Japan's efforts to reduce energy dependence was the development of new and alternative sources of energy, such as solar and wind power, first under Project Sunshine. Although this program funded a wide array of R&D both inside and outside Japan, the government made relatively little effort to deploy the resulting technologies. Indeed, until 1997—98, Japan had virtually no policies aimed explicitly at encouraging the adoption of renewable energy. Instead, the government focused on what it termed "promotion," which was effectively mere encouragement, if that.
Distribution
Agenda
Japan's 10 power companies have regional monopolies under government protection, controlling not only electricity generation but also electricity transmission from power stations to transformer substations and distribution to individual users.
This system is coupled with the government-backed price setting mechanism, in which the power companies are allowed to pass on the investment cost plus a certain margin (company profits) to consumers, thus enabling them to enjoy stable profits — a factor behind electricity bills that are higher than in other major industrialized countries.
Transition to Globalisation
World Primary Energy Demand
Global demand for energy will increase by 36% between 2008 and 2035, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest forecasts. Emerging economies will account for almost all of this increase (93%).
Globalisation > Economy > Energy
Transition to Political Tools
Asian Leadership and the Global Economic Crisis
In East Asia, as elsewhere in the world, the risks that we continue to face in recovery from the global financial crisis, economically and politically, are a consequence not only of failure in national governance but also in the architecture of international governance, including regional architecture.
Political Tools > Regional > Asia
Transition to Political Actors
For Globalization to Succeed 'Business Needs to Reinforce Its Compact with the Public'
Globalization is pulling tens of millions of people out of poverty annually and creating worldwide wealth unimaginable a generation ago. But its benefits are being shared unequally, resulting in widespread public dissatisfaction that business leaders ignore at their peril, two top executives told participants at the 2007 Wharton Economic Summit.
Political Actors > Business
