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This paper studies the diffusion of battery electric vehicle (BEV) technology in Japan. The diffusion process in this study refers to both the innovation and adoption of BEV technology. While previous studies on BEV technological diffusion focus on policy selection, especially domestic policy, little is known about the connectedness between international and domestic factors in the BEV technological diffusion process. This paper aims to enrich the discussion of technology diffusion by expanding the argument that technology diffusion is not only a domestic problem but also an international relations problem using a case study of BEV technology diffusion in Japan. The findings indicate that two international factors push Japan to diffuse BEV technology: Japanese commitment to the global environmental regime and global competition in BEV manufacturing. However, the domestic institution factor hinders the BEV technology diffusion. The production structures of automobile industries and political economy relations between the automobile industry and the government further complicate the diffusion process of BEV technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impacts of the Target-Setting Emissions Trading (TSET) Program launched by Saitama Prefecture in Japan in 2011 on the adoption of low-carbon technology. Using facility-level data on the manufacturing sector, the causal relationship between implementation of the program and investment in high-efficiency equipment is estimated. The results show that the TSET Program promoted the adoption of high-efficiency machines and devices for the first three years of the second compliance period, whereas the program did not spur investments in high-efficiency equipment during the first compliance period. These results suggest that the manufacturing facilities may have adopted relatively cheaper emissions reduction plans in the first compliance period such as improvements to equipment they already owned, whereas in the second compliance period, when the emissions targets became stricter, they allocated money and resources to introduce high-efficiency equipment. These findings indicate that the TSET Program succeeded in encouraging emissions reduction efforts by facilities in the manufacturing sector covered by the scheme, even though the program lacks penalties for noncompliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]