ABSTRACT

With Japan’s thrust towards a more balanced energy mix, it has been undergoing what can be termed as an energy transition. While the Fukushima Disaster has played a crucial role in this transition, the Paris Agreement has further acted as an impetus for the same. However, since 2012 Japan was under the political leadership of Shinzo Abe, who today is the longest-serving Prime Minister of Japan until Yoshihide Suga took over the prime ministership recently. Under Abe’s guidance, Japan’s energy policy has been a mixed bag with a few hits and some major misses. Now, as Japan welcomes its new Prime Minister Suga, it falls upon him to lead Japan on a path of just transition. One which balances its energy and economic goals and pays heed to the necessity of building a climate-friendly sustainable model. This paper maps and evaluates the Abe administration’s broad energy policy measures and attempts to foresee the changes Suga administration can introduce to the ongoing energy transition of Japan. It also highlights the areas within the energy sector, which might require the focus of PM Suga to enable Japan to take advantage of the opportunity of making Japan a part of global green leadership.

摘要

随着日本朝着更加平衡的能源结构的方向努力，日本一直在经历着所谓的能源过渡。福岛灾难在这一过渡过程中发挥了关键作用，但《巴黎协定》进一步推动了这一进程。然而，自2012年以来，日本一直在安倍晋三（Shinzo Abe）的政治领导下，安倍晋三（Shinzo Abe）担任日本首相之后任期最长的首相，直到最近信谷义秀（Hoshihide Suga）接任首相。在安倍晋三的指导下，日本的能源政策是一个好坏参半的好消息。现在，当日本欢迎新任首相须贺时，他有责任带领日本走上公正过渡的道路。一个平衡其能源和经济目标，并注意建立气候友好型可持续发展模型的必要性。本文绘制并评估了安倍晋三政府的广泛能源政策措施，并试图预见S贺政府可以为日本正在进行的能源转型带来的变化。它还强调了能源领域内的领域，这可能需要PM Suga重点关注，以使日本能够利用使日本成为全球绿色领导地位的一部分的机会。