MLIT Trials Green Steel in Public Works

The steel industry accounts for the largest share, approximately 35%, of CO₂ emissions from manufacturing in Japan and plays an important role in decarbonizing the industrial sector.

Green steel is steel produced with reduced CO₂ emissions during manufacturing, and its market formation has not yet progressed sufficiently.

The government intends to create initial demand by taking the lead in public procurement and form a market in which the GX value of steel is appropriately assessed.

The trials will accumulate emissions data and operational challenges involved in procuring and using green steel in public works, helping develop future procurement standards and assessment methods.

Expected continuing demand from the public sector will give steel manufacturers and construction businesses an opportunity to work on supplying and distributing low-carbon steel and presenting its GX value.

The initiative will align with the Japan Growth Strategy and the Decarbonization Action Plan for Civil Engineering Works, forming part of policy efforts to advance GX in the steel sector through public works.

Under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's GX Demand Creation and Carbon Pricing Operations Program, green steel will be used on a trial basis in civil engineering works commissioned by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Eligible materials include sheet piles and thick steel plates for bridges, and the program will examine CO₂ emissions including the manufacturing stage, CFP, green steel distribution, and GX value.

In fiscal 2026, trial projects will be added successively and the scope will be expanded as the investigation progresses. Examples identified at the time of the announcement include the central construction work for the Ginzan Bridge over the Nikicho section of National Route 5 by the Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau; the Umomori-Sango Drainage Channel Improvement Work and the steel superstructure work for the Route 42 Matsusaka-Taki BP Asada Viaduct by the Chubu Regional Development Bureau; the steel superstructure and substructure work for the Akasaka-Higashi Footbridge on the Fukuyama Road by the Chugoku Regional Development Bureau; and the A1-P2 and P7-A2 superstructure works for the Kurotori Viaduct on the Aki Road by the Shikoku Regional Development Bureau.

The list of trial projects presented was current as of July 24, and additional projects for the current fiscal year are expected to be added.

The Public-Private Investment Roadmap of the Japan Growth Strategy explicitly lists procurement for public works as a measure to create initial domestic demand for green steel. The revised Decarbonization Action Plan for Civil Engineering Works of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism also presents a decarbonization roadmap for steel, a construction material.