1 INTRODUCTION
11
A related distinctive feature is that while we focus on Japan, we
also include intra-regional and cross-regional comparisons, whereas most
other works focus on single countries, such as China (e.g., Lewis 2013;
Korsnes 2020). The most similar book in this respect is Michaël Aklin
and Johannes Urpelainen, Renewables: The Politics of a Global Energy
Transition (2018), but this book focuses almost exclusively on the
developed west (the USA and Western Europe, including 12 pages on
Denmark, 3 on Finland), with less than twenty pages on China and India.
Co-editor Espen Moe’s (2015) book also includes cross-national comparisons, including chapters on China, Japan, USA, Denmark, Germany, and
Norway. However, this book does not examine other Asian economies
and does not focus on the new challenges to renewable energy that this
volume focuses on.
Plan of This Book
This book is divided into three parts. Part one examines Japan, part two
East Asia, and part three Nordic Europe. Chapter 2, by Koichi Hasegawa,
examines Japan’s Energy policy since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident of March 11, 2011. In response to this accident Germany and several
other governments adopted energy transition policies promoting energy
efficiency, renewables, and denuclearization, while Japan’s policy changed
relatively little. This chapter addresses this puzzle by analyzing documents
and media reports, and interviews with key players. The relative weakness of opposition political parties vis-à-vis the ruling coalition led by the
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and relatively weak civil society provide
the context for explaining Japan’s relatively unchanged energy policy. An
inner circle of vested interests called the “nuclear village” (genpatsu mura)
still stands against real reforms. The balance of this chapter examines how
grassroots community renewable-power movements, especially active in
Aizu and other areas of Fukushima Prefecture, reveal new ways that the
Japanese public is mobilizing to support an energy transition.
Chapter 3 by Hiroshi Ohta asks why is Japan so reluctant to take a
leadership role in global climate change negotiations, and is trailing in
the development of renewable energy? It argues that the source of Japan’s
inaction in climate diplomacy arises from its energy policy, which had long
discouraged the extensive development of renewables. Japan’s energy
security concerns that dominated its energy policy since the two oil crises
of the 1970s are the root cause. Since then, the Japanese government
11
A related distinctive feature is that while we focus on Japan, we
also include intra-regional and cross-regional comparisons, whereas most
other works focus on single countries, such as China (e.g., Lewis 2013;
Korsnes 2020). The most similar book in this respect is Michaël Aklin
and Johannes Urpelainen, Renewables: The Politics of a Global Energy
Transition (2018), but this book focuses almost exclusively on the
developed west (the USA and Western Europe, including 12 pages on
Denmark, 3 on Finland), with less than twenty pages on China and India.
Co-editor Espen Moe’s (2015) book also includes cross-national comparisons, including chapters on China, Japan, USA, Denmark, Germany, and
Norway. However, this book does not examine other Asian economies
and does not focus on the new challenges to renewable energy that this
volume focuses on.
Plan of This Book
This book is divided into three parts. Part one examines Japan, part two
East Asia, and part three Nordic Europe. Chapter 2, by Koichi Hasegawa,
examines Japan’s Energy policy since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident of March 11, 2011. In response to this accident Germany and several
other governments adopted energy transition policies promoting energy
efficiency, renewables, and denuclearization, while Japan’s policy changed
relatively little. This chapter addresses this puzzle by analyzing documents
and media reports, and interviews with key players. The relative weakness of opposition political parties vis-à-vis the ruling coalition led by the
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and relatively weak civil society provide
the context for explaining Japan’s relatively unchanged energy policy. An
inner circle of vested interests called the “nuclear village” (genpatsu mura)
still stands against real reforms. The balance of this chapter examines how
grassroots community renewable-power movements, especially active in
Aizu and other areas of Fukushima Prefecture, reveal new ways that the
Japanese public is mobilizing to support an energy transition.
Chapter 3 by Hiroshi Ohta asks why is Japan so reluctant to take a
leadership role in global climate change negotiations, and is trailing in
the development of renewable energy? It argues that the source of Japan’s
inaction in climate diplomacy arises from its energy policy, which had long
discouraged the extensive development of renewables. Japan’s energy
security concerns that dominated its energy policy since the two oil crises
of the 1970s are the root cause. Since then, the Japanese government