SUSTAINABILITY

Energy-related
Industries

JAPAN’S GREENGROWTH STRATEGYWILL ACCELERATE INNOVATION

Japan has set out an ambitious plan to lead the world in decarbonization. What exactly is Japan’s Green Growth Strategy?
In October 2020, the Japanese government
announced its plans to achieve net zero carbon
emissions by 2050. Moreover, in April 2021, it raised
its previously set goal of reducing emissions by 2030
to an ambitious 46% from its 2013 levels, stepping
up its efforts to reach carbon neutrality. Tackling
global warming is no longer seen as a cost, but moreas a great opportunity whereby such proactive measures
will bring about strong economic growth. To createsuch a “virtuous cycle of economy and environment,”
the government launched the “Green Growth Strategy
through Achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050”.
“The pillars of Japan’s strategy for reducing carbon
emissions are twofold: decarbonization of the electric
power sector and electrification of other sectors,” says
KAWAHARA Kei, director, Environmental Policy
Division, Carbon Neutral Action Plan Promotion
Office, at the Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry. For the electric power sector, the strategy hasproclaimed the goal of pursuing all avenues—including
renewable energy and hydrogen power—to promote thedecarbonization of power generation. For other sectors,
such as manufacturing, transportation and housing,
the strategy’s main approach is to further propel ashift in power sources toward electricity. To curtail thegrowing electricity demand associated with that shift,
however, the strategy also calls for the advancementof energy saving through digital technology, such as
the automated, optimal control of the power network,
along with a leaner, more efficient use of energy.
The Green Growth Strategy sets out 14 promising
fields (see chart) in which future growth is expected, andwhere efforts are essential for achieving the reductionof greenhouse gas emissions. All available policy
measures—from budget and taxation to regulatory
reform—will be called upon to stimulate innovation

Transportation/Manufacturing-related Industries

Home/Office-related
Industries

1. Offshore Wind/
Solar/
Geothermal Power

5. Automobile/
Battery

6. Semiconductor/
Information andCommunication

12. Housing and Building/
Next-generation
Power Management

2. Hydrogen/
Fuel Ammonia

7. Shipping

8. Logistics, People Flow,and Civil Engineering
Infrastructure

13. Resource
Circulation-related

3. Next-generation
Heat Energy

9. Food, Agriculture,Forestry and Fisheries

10. Aircraft

14. Lifestyle-related

4. Nuclear

The Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field(FH2R), located in Namie Town in Fukushima
Prefecture, is one of the largest production facilities
of hydrogen from renewable resources in the world.

14 Growth Sectors

11. Carbon Recycling/
Material

in each of the different fields. Notable among thesemeasures is the establishment of a 2-trillion-yen(18.2-billion-dollar) Green Innovation Fund, which will
provide continuous support for a series of efforts fromambitious R&D to social implementation over the next
10 years. “We will provide continuous supports, but at
the same time we can call on companies to aspire toward
high-reaching goals for 2030 and a strong commitment
to them. By introducing such supportive mechanisms,
and using 2 trillion yen of governmental funds as pumppriming, private companies are expected to increase
their R&D and capital investment,” explains Kawahara.
Concrete action plans have also been drawn up foreach of the 14 fields to demonstrate realistic pathways
toward their goal in 2050, thereby allowing steadyprogress to be realized in each field. For example, forthe hydrogen industry, the strategy lays out several steps.
It focuses first on increasing the volume of hydrogen
introduced in the society. Bringing hydrogen power
generation turbines and fuel cell trucks into marketableproducts are some of the urgent issues specified in
the strategy. It also puts emphasis on measures tostrengthen hydrogen supply including transportationand storage. Through these steps, the strategy aims tobring down the price of hydrogen and to expand thevolume of domestic introduction up to 3 million tons
in 2030 and 20 million tons in 2050.
To spread these new technologies and boost thecompetitiveness of Japanese industries, the Green
Growth Strategy also focuses on international
cooperation. Japan will encourage domestic companies
to collaborate with overseas firms, promoting bilateraland multilateral ties so as to lower the barrier to overseas
markets, while also actively working to formulateinternational rules. In 2021, separate agreements werereached with the United States and EU to create newframeworks to reinforce such cooperation. Meanwhile,
the Japanese government has proposed the Asia Energy
Transition Initiative, a support measure for the gradualreduction of carbon emissions in the region, to Asian
countries. The initiative encourages a realistic energy
transition through the use of a wide range of energy
sources and technologies in line with the industrial andsocial structures and geographical conditions of eachcountry where demands for energy are expanding.
“We should bring together the best technologies andmake the most of what they offer. While increasing
Japan’s industrial competitiveness, we will make ourcontribution to the world by spreading Japanesetechnology overseas,” says Kawahara.
With the Green Growth Strategy, Japan will
promote decarbonization, which is one of themost critical and global challenges for the future ofhumanity. Taking the challenge as an opportunity
for growth, Japan will push forward with efforts
to realize a truly sustainable society by promoting
innovation, fostering new industries, and sharing itsachievements with the world.

Top Left: The automated control of electric
power networks using digital technology hasreduced energy consumption in Kashiwa-no-ha
Smart City in Chiba Prefecture.
Top Right: Aichi Prefecture’s Toyota City
provides a car sharing service utilizing
ultra-compact electric vehicles.
Left: Film-type perovskite solar cells developedin Japan can potentially be installed on thesides of buildings.
Toshiba Corporation