The Agency for Natural Resources and Energy published a comprehensive analysis of Japan's energy issues in 2024. The foundation of Japan's energy policy lies in the "S+3E Principle," aiming for simultaneous realization of Energy Security, Economic Efficiency, and Environment compatibility with Safety as the prerequisite.
Regarding energy security challenges, Japan's self-sufficiency rate was extremely low at 12.6% in FY2022, ranking 37th among 38 OECD countries. This was 20.2% in FY2010 before the Great East Japan Earthquake but significantly declined due to nuclear power plant shutdowns. Fossil fuel dependency remains high at 80.7% in FY2023, with over 90% of crude oil dependent on the Middle East and LNG and coal dependent on Australia and Asian regions. Future increases in electricity demand are expected due to new data centers and semiconductor factory construction, requiring new responses.
From an economic perspective, electricity prices have risen 35% for households and 74% for industry compared to FY2010. FY2022 saw significant price increases due to soaring fuel prices, with some decline in FY2023 but still at high levels. The renewable energy feed-in tariff system has reached 4.8 trillion yen in purchase costs, with monthly household burden at 1,396 yen.
For environmental measures, Japan declared achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050, setting GHG reduction targets of 60% by FY2035 and 73% by FY2040. Energy-origin CO2 accounts for 85% of FY2022 GHG emissions of 1.14 billion tons, making energy conservation and renewable energy expansion urgent.
For safety assurance, power infrastructure resilience is being strengthened to respond to intensifying natural disasters. Inter-regional transmission line development, submarine DC transmission, and Kanmon interconnection reinforcement are being implemented. For nuclear power plant restarts, compliance with stricter new regulatory standards is mandated, strengthening accident prevention and terrorism countermeasures. Solving these challenges requires promoting Green Transformation (GX) toward simultaneous realization of energy security, economic growth, and decarbonization.