Electricity production from hydropower Japan FY 2013-2022

In the fiscal year 2022, Japan's electricity production from hydropower stood at approximately 77 terawatt hours. Figures peaked in the fiscal year 2015, reaching around 87 terawatt hours, but indicated a slight decrease in recent years.

 Hydropower in Japan

Hydropower represents Japan's second productive renewable energy source as solar power overtook it in recent years. Since the island nation has already constructed large-scale hydroelectric facilities at nearly all potential sites, a further increase in the generation capacity is hardly possible. Conventional run-of-river plants represented the largest number of hydropower plants. This type of hydropower station uses the natural flow of water to generate energy, without using a reservoir.

Renewable energy in Japan 

Fossil fuels remained Japan's largest energy source for electricity production, but the share of renewables increased to over 20 percent in recent years. Next to hydropower, solar energy, and wind energy are gaining importance and are likely to expand further in the future.
To be more independent of fossil fuel imports as well as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and electric power costs, the country's current energy policy aims to replace fossil fuels with nuclear and renewable energy sources.