247
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and the Author(s) 2018
K. Takeuchi et al. (eds.), Biofuels and Sustainability, Science for Sustainable
Societies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54895-9_15
Chapter 15
National Strategy Options for Japan
Osamu Saito
15.1 Introduction
The introduction and diffusion of biofuel industry have been promoted in many
developed countries including Japan, which has established concrete mandates with
numerical targets for both bioethanol and biodiesel. Table 15.1 shows changes to the
biofuel introduction targets in Japan. In response to government requests to achieve
the GHG emission reduction goals of the Kyoto protocol, the Petroleum Association
of Japan has agreed to blend 840,000 kl/year of bio-ETBE (ethyl tertiary-butyl
ether), equivalent to 210,000 kl of crude oil, into gasoline starting in fiscal year (FY)
2010. This blended bio-ETBE gasoline has been sold as “biogasoline,” and the
number of service stations selling it has increased from 50 in 2007 to 3210 in 2012.
On the other hand, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has been promoting
a strategy to accelerate the use of biomass energy by supplying E3 gasoline, a blend
of gasoline with 3% bioethanol. Demonstration projects for E3 have been conducted
in Osaka, Tokyo, and Okinawa, but the amount of E3 gasoline sold in 2010 remained
approximately 28,000 kl.
A number of studies have evaluated how achieving these mandates can contribute to reductions in GHG emissions and how the expansion of biofuel production
can affect food security. However, there are few studies focusing on the interlinkages between different impacts, including trade-offs and synergies among different
types of impacts. This chapter quantitatively assesses various environmental impacts
by expanding biofuel production and ethanol usage and analyzes the interlinkages
among different impacts under several options for introducing biofuel in Japan. We
use three indicators for this analysis, life-cycle carbon footprint (LCCO 2 ), water
footprint (WF), and ecological footprint (EF), by considering feedstock types,
O. Saito (*)
United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS),
5-53-70 Jingumae, Shibuya 150-8925, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: saito@unu.edu
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and the Author(s) 2018
K. Takeuchi et al. (eds.), Biofuels and Sustainability, Science for Sustainable
Societies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54895-9_15
Chapter 15
National Strategy Options for Japan
Osamu Saito
15.1 Introduction
The introduction and diffusion of biofuel industry have been promoted in many
developed countries including Japan, which has established concrete mandates with
numerical targets for both bioethanol and biodiesel. Table 15.1 shows changes to the
biofuel introduction targets in Japan. In response to government requests to achieve
the GHG emission reduction goals of the Kyoto protocol, the Petroleum Association
of Japan has agreed to blend 840,000 kl/year of bio-ETBE (ethyl tertiary-butyl
ether), equivalent to 210,000 kl of crude oil, into gasoline starting in fiscal year (FY)
2010. This blended bio-ETBE gasoline has been sold as “biogasoline,” and the
number of service stations selling it has increased from 50 in 2007 to 3210 in 2012.
On the other hand, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has been promoting
a strategy to accelerate the use of biomass energy by supplying E3 gasoline, a blend
of gasoline with 3% bioethanol. Demonstration projects for E3 have been conducted
in Osaka, Tokyo, and Okinawa, but the amount of E3 gasoline sold in 2010 remained
approximately 28,000 kl.
A number of studies have evaluated how achieving these mandates can contribute to reductions in GHG emissions and how the expansion of biofuel production
can affect food security. However, there are few studies focusing on the interlinkages between different impacts, including trade-offs and synergies among different
types of impacts. This chapter quantitatively assesses various environmental impacts
by expanding biofuel production and ethanol usage and analyzes the interlinkages
among different impacts under several options for introducing biofuel in Japan. We
use three indicators for this analysis, life-cycle carbon footprint (LCCO 2 ), water
footprint (WF), and ecological footprint (EF), by considering feedstock types,
O. Saito (*)
United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS),
5-53-70 Jingumae, Shibuya 150-8925, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: saito@unu.edu