This study identified areas suitable for offshore wind energy development in Japan based on a low probability of conflicts with stakeholders, such as fishery groups, shipping agents, and residents (minor conflict areas). Using geographic information systems, this study uses a two-stage approach. The first stage reviews Japanese zoning rules and excludes non-conforming areas with rules. The second stage examines case studies of stakeholder conflicts to identify minor conflict areas using three parameters, i.e., distance from the shore, shipping density, and existence of fishery rights, by considering local concerns regarding the seascape and conflicts resulting from shipping routes and fishery rights. Although previous studies have assessed massive offshore wind energy potential areas (> 140,000 km²) with various approaches, the areas that conform to the zoning rules (53,665 km²) and minor conflicts areas (7,213 km² or 2% of Japanese territorial waters) are significantly limited. Furthermore, this study revealed that concerns regarding the seascape are a key issue inhibiting the expansion of bottom-fixed offshore wind turbines in Japan. Thus, the approach, which considers both zoning rules and stakeholder conflicts, can reduce the risk of offshore wind energy potential overestimation. For offshore wind energy capacity targets, relevant authorities should carefully examine both the zoning rules and stakeholders.

这项研究基于与利益相关者（如渔业团体，运输代理商和居民）（冲突较小的地区）发生冲突的可能性较低，从而确定了适合日本海上风能开发的地区。通过使用地理信息系统，本研究采用了两个阶段的方法。第一阶段审查日本分区规则，并排除不符合规则的区域。第二阶段研究利益相关者冲突的案例研究，使用三个参数，即距海岸的距离，航运密度和渔业权利的存在，通过考虑当地对海景的关注以及航运路线和渔业权利引起的冲突，来确定较小的冲突区域。尽管先前的研究评估了巨大的海上风能潜力区域（> 140,000 km ²）通过各种方法，符合分区规则的区域（53,665 km ²）和较小的冲突区域（7,213 km ²或日本领水的2％）受到很大限制。此外，这项研究表明，对海景的关注是阻碍日本固定式海上风力涡轮机扩张的关键问题。因此，该方法同时考虑了分区规则和利益相关者之间的冲突，可以降低海上风能潜在高估的风险。对于海上风能容量目标，有关当局应仔细检查分区规则和利益相关者。