CHAPTER 3
Why Japan Is No-Longer a Front-Runner:
Domestic Politics, Renewable Energy,
and Climate Change Policy
Hiroshi Ohta
Introduction
Japan overcame severe environmental pollution problems in the 1960s
and 1970s and weathered two oil crises in the 1970s. In surmounting
these problems and crises, Japan has developed pollution-abatement and
energy-efficient technologies. Regarding mitigation of climate change,
it has maintained a technological lead, for instance, in developing and
commercializing hybrid cars and solar panels. In tandem with these
efforts, Japan has had a strong domestic political incentive to play a
leading role in non-military issues like global climate change due to the
“no-war clause” in its constitution, which does not recognize military
force as a legitimate instrument of foreign policy. The general public
has been supportive of the Japanese government playing a leading role
in international negotiations for the mitigation of climate change. 1 As
H. Ohta (B)
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: h-ohta@waseda.jp
© The Author(s) 2021
P. Midford and E. Moe (eds.), New Challenges and Solutions
for Renewable Energy, International Political Economy Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54514-7_3
51