Catharina Klein
Research expert covering Japan
Fossil fuels in Japan - statistics & facts
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Fossil fuels represent important sources of energy production in Japan. But since fossil fuel burning produces greenhouse gas emissions, it is the main contributor to global warming and air pollution. In recent years, Japan represented one of the largest carbon dioxide emitters in the world, as the majority of the country's primary energy supply was covered by fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas.
In recent years, the share of renewables in electricity production increased to close to 22 percent and the nuclear electricity share stood at around six percent. These measures started to show their effect as figures for Japan's greenhouse gas emissions started to indicate a downwards trend. Nevertheless, there was international criticism that Japan is unlikely to expand its renewable energy share sufficiently to become carbon-neutral by 2050. Although nuclear energy remains controversial after the Fukushima disaster, it is expected to be essential to replace fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels remained the largest energy sources in Japan
Following the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, nuclear energy was replaced by fossil fuels. In recent years, the share of fossil fuels in the energy mix added up to over 72 percent, and natural gas remained the energy source with the largest share in electricity production. Even though Japan's energy consumption declined throughout the past decade, the island nation remained one of the largest energy consumers worldwide, as its global leading manufacturing industry has a high electricity demand for its production.Dependency on fossil fuel imports
The production volume of coal dropped sharply after 1990, as the small deposits on the archipelago had already been mined. For similar reasons, the production volume of crude oil and natural gas decreased throughout the past decade as well. Since Japan lacks domestic reserves of fossil fuels, it is highly dependent on imports: Over 99 percent of the crude oil supply and close to 98 percent of the natural gas supply was covered by imports, mostly from Middle Eastern countries. Even though Japan diversified its suppliers for liquefied natural gas (LNG), at the beginning of 2021, gas shortages resulted in increased electricity prices, highlighting the vulnerability of the current system.Energy policy in Japan
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, be less dependent on fossil fuel imports, and secure a stable electricity supply, the Japanese government currently aims to replace fossil fuels with renewable and nuclear energy. Following other countries, which declared stronger global warming measures, Japan recently announced that it raised its climate goals for 2030, intending to cut emissions by 46 percent compared to the level of 2013. Furthermore, the country aims to be entirely emission-free by 2050.In recent years, the share of renewables in electricity production increased to close to 22 percent and the nuclear electricity share stood at around six percent. These measures started to show their effect as figures for Japan's greenhouse gas emissions started to indicate a downwards trend. Nevertheless, there was international criticism that Japan is unlikely to expand its renewable energy share sufficiently to become carbon-neutral by 2050. Although nuclear energy remains controversial after the Fukushima disaster, it is expected to be essential to replace fossil fuels.
