###### Abstract  
This article examines the establishment and publication of green plans and green public procurement (GPP) policies in Japanese municipalities. The purpose of the study was to investigate these green policymaking initiatives from a contingency theory perspective. The first research question examined contextual factors for green policymaking. The second research question focused on barriers and enablers. For RQ1, through hypothesis testing and a regression analysis (\(n=1663\)), we found that green policymaking differs by organization location, organization size, and organizational green capabilities. More specifically, we identified prefectures where municipalities score relatively higher as well as lower. Second, we found that larger (vs. smaller) municipalities under-take more (vs. less) green policymaking initiatives. Third, we observed that organizations with more (vs. less) green capabilities develop more (vs. less) green initiatives. For RQ2, through a descriptive and cluster analysis, we identified dominant barriers and enablers to establishing a GPP policy. The dominant barriers include a lack of information, lack of staff, and cost concerns, whereas manuals and example forms are important enablers. These findings are highly relevant to understanding and supporting green policymaking in Japanese municipalities.  
Green Policymaking in Japanese municipalities: An Empirical Study on External and Internal Contextual Factors  
1  
1  
[PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON].  
* RQ1a. Do green policymaking initiatives differ among Japanese municipalities, depending on their organization location and organization size (i.e., external contextual factors)?
* RQ1b. Do green policymaking initiatives differ among Japanese municipalities, depending on their organizational green capabilities (i.e., internal contextual factors)?
* RQ2a. Which barriers to green policymaking initiatives exist among Japanese municipalities?
* RQ2b. Which enablers for green policymaking initiatives exist among Japanese municipalities?  
We had access to a survey of the Ministry of Environment, Japan (MOEJ) that collected data on municipalities' green policymaking initiatives, including green plans and GPP policies. For RQ1, we investigated the role of contextual factors by means of hypothesis testing (i.e., ANOVA or analysis of variance) and a regression analysis. As such, this work represents a search for the contextual factors that influence green policymaking initiatives. Furthermore, RQ2 examined the relationship between green policymaking initiatives, barriers, and enablers through a descriptive and cluster analysis. In sum, for RQ2, we explored how municipalities can implement more green policymaking initiatives.  
We consider this work to be of utmost importance, due to three significant contributions. First, it provides a framework for empirical research on green policymaking initiatives within the context of organizational theory. This approach has the potential to inspire future studies and promote the advancement of this research field. Second, the dataset analyzed in this research comprises an unprecedented number of cases (\(n=1663\)), which significantly enhances the external validity of the findings and corroborates earlier research. Finally, the robust external validity of the study allows for the development of practical guidelines, which could be of great value to policymakers.  
This article continues with the background of green policymaking in Japan (Section 2) and the proposition development (Section 3). The research method that we applied in this study is explained in Section 4. Afterwards, the results are presented in Section 5 (RQ1) and Section 6 (RQ2). The discussion follows in Section 7, and Section 8 ends with concluding remarks.