## (5) Promotion of contribution towards the hydrogen society

With the need for hydrogen energy expected to expand in the future, such as fuel cells for residential use (introduced to the market in 2009) and fuel-cell cars (introduced to the market in 2014), MLIT is working on realizing a hydrogen energy fueled society by preparing a conducive environment for the manufacturing, storage/transportation and usage of hydrogen.

### a. Promotion of dissemination of fuel-cell cars

To work towards the world’s fastest dissemination of fuel-cell cars, MLIT will support fuel-cell car introduction projects by private businesses. MLIT will also steadily pursue the technological development of hydrogen energy, as it is important to achieve early utilization of things like fuel-cell buses and fuel-cell forklifts, as they are projected to create a relatively consistent demand for hydrogen.

### b. Setting up the marine transportation system for liquefied hydrogen

Early construction of a liquefied hydrogen carrier that allows mass transport of liquefied hydrogen is expected. However, as this carrier will be the world’s first, there are no existing safety standards which makes it necessary to determine the safety requirements as soon as possible. Therefore, in 2014 we put together the safety requirements for ships and ship crews that take into account the special qualities of hydrogen. Also, in regards to a project progressing in Australia to produce liquefied hydrogen for bulk shipment to Japan, a conference was held with Australia on proposed safety standards formulated by Japan, and an agreement was reached in February 2015. Going forward, we will be leading the international standardization of the safety standards within the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

## 4 Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures (Adaptation Measures)

For the effects of global warming that cannot be avoided even with the most stringent mitigation measures, it is essential to have measures (adaptations) to prevent or reduce the damage to a minimum, or even take advantage of the opportunities for benefits. Therefore, we plan to formulate an “Adaptation Plan” for the entire government, to be completed by summer of 2015.

As a part of the adaptation measures, MLIT has already been proactively promoting countermeasures against water disasters such as floods, sediment-related disasters, tidal waves and draughts. Furthermore, taking into account the most recent findings on global warming that had been summarized in the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report which was published over 2013-2014, the “Subcommittee for Flood Control Measures adapted to Climate Change under the Waterway Sectional Committee of the Panel for Infrastructure Development” held discussions regarding the kind of adaptation measures to be taken against climate change in the field of water disasters, and published the mid-term summary in February 2015. In terms of coastal areas, the “Committee to Consider the Effect of Climate Change on Coastal Areas (Harbors, Shores) and Determine the Direction of Adaptations” held discussions regarding the direction to be taken for adaptation measures. In addition to these deliberations, MLIT will summarize adaptation measures covering various aspects including transportation infrastructure and heat island as the “MLIT Adaptation Plan” (tentative name), and—along with reflecting the government's adaptation plan—work on the planning and application of comprehensive adaptation measures from both the structural and non-structural aspects.

## Section 2 Promoting the creation of a recycling society

## 1 Advancing recycling in construction

Construction waste accounts for approximately 20% of all industrial waste, 20% of final disposed amount, and 80% of all illegally discarded waste. Suppression of the generation of construction waste, and recycling and reuse of those waste are major tasks. The national construction disposal amount was approximately 73 million tons in FY2012, with a recycling/reduction rate of 96.0% which was an improvement compared to 93.7% in FY2008. However, there are still issues such as maintenance and renewal construction for the aging social infrastructure, increase in construction by-products generated from construction related to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and increase in construction generated soil from the