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The Great Tōhoku-Earthquake and the following nuclear meltdown in Fukushima called the world's attention to Japans' energy and climate policy. Japan is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouses gases in the world and is still facing problems of reaching its Kyoto target by domestic reductions. Emissions trading has been used in Japanese climate policy since 2005. However, major emission reductions have not been achieved and a functioning market does not exist. Hence, using an advanced Public Choice approach, we ask for the political reasons for the failure of ambitious carbon markets in Japan and how the earthquake has influenced the political chances of emissions trading. Also, we evaluate Public Choice's arguments and environmental policy making. We show that in Japan, even after some positive promising developments, chances for an ambitious carbon market are still very low. We also show that a Public Choice that takes exogenous conditions into account delivers important insights into climate policy decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Japanese government submitted the medium-term target to the secretarial office of Framework Convention on Climate Change that Japan would decrease 25% of greenhouse gases compared with 1990 emissions. This commitment was highly evaluated worldwide. However, some experts criticize that it is impossible to maintain sustainable development under such severe target. This article aims at investigating whether we could realize sustainable development under such ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For this purpose, we first evaluated possible technology options and system innovation along with economic options. Technology options include efficiency improvement, renewable energy technologies and nuclear power technologies. Economic options include carbon tax, emissions trading scheme and feed-in-tariff for renewable energies. Once the promising technologies and policy options were listed up, we integrated these options in a computable general equilibrium model for Japan, which we developed, so as to evaluate the impact to national economy. As results, we identified the condition, how we could realize sustainable development under the 25% target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan has recognized the need to make significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including CO2, but Japanese energy policy is fragmented and ineffective in coping with the challenge. Highly controversial options have been included in its strategy. Against this background, the current Japanese energy policy is reviewed and alternative future options are proposed, with their implications examined in the real policy context. A backcasting methodology, which creates a normative vision and identifies policy paths to attain the vision, is identified as a highly relevant conceptual framework for the analysis. Four visions are presented, within which subsequent policy packages and detailed policy paths are created. Two-tier evaluation stages are set to validate the policy packages and paths, through discussion with key Japanese energy experts. The study provides an insight into the effectiveness of the methodology, and implications of the proposed visions and policy packages. A series of innovations are made, including the 'policy road map' as an effective tool that links the backcasting framework and strategic policy discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article envisions a future in which advances in technology and urban development have transformed Japanese society by 2050, resulting in significant greenhouse gas reductions. Pathways leading Japan towards a low-carbon society are calculated using a scenario approach based on back-casting' techniques. It is possible to reach a 70% reduction in 002 emissions through a combination of demand-side and supply-side actions. On the demand side, reductions of 40-45% are possible through efficiency improvements, decreased population and the more rational use of energy despite increased energy demands arising in certain sectors. On the supply side, 002 emissions can be reduced through a combination of the appropriate choice of low-carbon energy sources (including carbon capture and storage) and improving energy efficiency. The estimated direct annual cost of technology to achieve this by 2050 is 6.7-9.8 trillion yen, approximately 1% of the estimated 2050 GDP However, this excludes costs involved in infrastructure investments with aims other than climate policy (e.g. strengthening international competitiveness, improving security, enhancing urban development, and reinforcing energy). To avoid investing in its current high-carbon-emitting infrastructure, Japan must develop long-term strategies to create the necessary technological and societal innovations and to channel the appropriate financial resources for intensive economy-wide change, such as development of land, urban areas, and buildings, improvements in industrial structures, and new technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the Climate Convention sets legally binding targets for the industrialized countries. But some countries, especially Russia and Ukraine, adopted very weak targets, thus creating a large gap between their likely future emissions and their target level. This difference has been termed ‘hot air’. Through emissions trading those countries with excess emissions could buy ‘hot air’ and avoid taking action at home. This article reviews the potential size of and actors in such a market, and argues that any payment for traded emissions should be re-invested in further mitigation projects. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the viewpoints from experts in response to the question about the prospects for an effective global implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. One expert says that the Protocol still places a gap between current emissions of greenhouse gases and Japan's Kyoto target. Another implies that the prospects of the Kyoto Protocol being implemented are not important. Another also states that proposing technology programs in the late stages is an insult to all involved.