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• This paper estimates carbon emissions released by household travel demand from 47 Japanese cities. • Carbon footprint generated by private transport is found as 1.4 to 13.9 times higher than public transport. • Gasoline's direct combustion is found as the most significant reason to generate the regional difference. • The highest total carbon footprint is found in cities with fewer population. Considering its substantial and increasing contribution to global climate change, the household sector shows potential for larger carbon reductions. Among different household activities, household individual travel demands due to private or public transportation affect the environment via both direct or indirect emissions. To develop insights from a city-level perspective, carbon emissions released due to household travel demands in 47 Japanese cities were estimated in this study using the most recent available data. Given the differences in traveling preferences, spatial distribution and cluster analyses by city were also conducted. The results indicate that cities with a larger carbon footprint usually had a smaller population, whereas in megacities, less carbon per capita was released. The direct combustion of gasoline and train use were the most important factors influencing regional differences in direct and indirect emissions, respectively. The findings also indicate that customized carbon mitigation strategies that consider individual preferences and city size have a better chance of achieving decarbonization of citizen transportation in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]