Energy transition is expected to open a new era of competition over cleaner energy. The US and EU countries have accelerated their transition toward lower-carbon fuels, moving beyond coal and pursuing decarbonization, while Japan lags far behind in the energy transition.

The Japanese government maintains a policy of continuously introducing high- efficiency coal-fired power plants despite the fact that 9 out of 33 nuclear power plants (NPPs) have started operations since 2015. Japan will be forced to rely “permanently” on coal-fired plants and NPPs unless it can solve structural issues in its energy system. If it continues to rely on power grids exclusively, Japan’s energy sector can expect limited growth in renewables, particularly solar and wind power. The government’s current energy policy, unveiled in July of this year, promised that renewable energy would be one of the major energy sources by 2030. But unless the current energy system changes dramatically, this most likely will be an empty promise.