Sustainability is the underlying theme of all the big issues for the next Japan Prime Minister: energy, tax & social issues - it’s worth having a look at how the top-3 contenders differ on these key issues. The pushback in Japan rural areas for Mega-Solar farms, alternative strategies, and upcoming rooftop solar initiatives in Tokyo are also discussed here.
On September 27th, this week Friday, the ruling LDP party will choose their next president from a group of seven candidates, but there are 3 top contenders are in the spotlight.
In an early post this month, I shared insights from the interview with political scientist Dr.Donna Weeks on the top-7 candidates (now there are 9) vying the top leader position at the beginning of this month.
Now as the election is only a few days away, it seems to be down to the top-3 candidates: Koizumi, Ishiba and Takaichi.
The ruling party election likely to choose Japan’s next prime minister is shaping up to be a three-way race among former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and Sanae Takaichi, minister in charge of economic security. Nikkei Asia, Sept 21, 2024
Japan’s Energy Future
- Koizumi has stated (Reuters) that he wants to introduce a Carbon Tax which is essential for international trade as the EU will raise their standards for products and services with a carbon tax. In 2019, Koizumi was strongly anti-nuclear but in 2024 hinted he may have softened his attitude to nuclear power stating we may need to use all power sources (JT).
- Ishiba has stated (JT) that he wants to bring nuclear power down to zero and increase other renewable energy sources like geothermal — which has great potential in Japan, but has yet to be developed and is expected to only supply 1% of power by 2030. Ishiba wants to also increase hydropower which is expected to supply 11% of power by 2030.
- Takaichi has said (JT) she wants to increase the use of nuclear energy with smaller, more efficient power plants.
- Currently Prime Minister Kishida’s Green Transformation plan is to increase nuclear power, offshore wind, ammonia and hydrogen, but there are arguments that implementation is too costly in the trillions.
Under the current energy strategy adopted by former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government in 2021, Japan’s 2030 energy mix calls for 36% to 38% of electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources (solar, onshore and offshore wind, geothermal, hydropower and biomass), 20% to 22% from nuclear power, 20% from liquefied natural gas, 19% from coal and 2% from oil. Hydrogen and ammonia are expected to contribute 1%. Japan Times 9/2024
Rural Mega-Solar Backlash vs Hybrid Potential for Solar Farms
There has been a rural push-back against large solar projects that cut down forests, ruin the beauty of the landscape or create glares for residents. Japan aims to increase solar energy imput from current 79 GW (2022) capacity to 16% (100 GW) by 2030 (eia).
Some ways to improve Mega-Solar farms is to create dual-purpose for generating clean energy such as:
- Agrivoltaics — sharing farmland and farm animal spaces with solar farms for mutual benefit from shade and revenue sharing from the money made from selling energy to the grid.
One of the primary benefits of agrivoltaics is the ability to sell the electricity generated and earn a stable profit. Additionally, the government offers a fixed unit price for the purchase of electricity over a 20-year period. The government’s feed-in tariff (FIT) system for renewable energy supports this stable revenue stream. https://solar-sharing.farm/en/
- Sea-based solar energy — solar panels that are created to float on waterways helps to cool the water and also keeps the panels cooler to create more energy. Japan Gov.
overheating can be prevented if the panels are located on a water surface, the cooling effect of which allows them to maintain their power output. Also, there is no need to worry about slopes and inclines with floating systems, unlike in the case of land installations of solar panels. Japan Gov. 7/2024
- Solar Farms can support natural area biodiversity- Japan has a lot of mountaneous and rural areas, even a lot of plots which are abandoned farmland as the number of farmers is declining. A rewilding approach could work very well here. In the UK, a study published this year shows how using solar farms in natural areas can support biodiversity. They found animals, insects and plants all florished in combination with well planned solar farms.
Report analyst Hollie Blaydes, PhD researcher at Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, said: “Our understanding of biodiversity at solar farms is growing as more ecological monitoring data are collected across an increasing number of UK solar farms. Groups such as birds and invertebrates appear to respond positively to biodiversity-focused management at solar farms and we hope to continue working with the data to further unpick the patterns identified.” Solar Power Portal, UK 3/2024
Tokyo Govenor Koike’s 2025 Roodtop Solar Mandate
Tokyo governor Koike (who has just been re-elected in 2024) will certainly help Japan boost its solar capacity and cut carbon emissions as Japan’s most populated city (pop 14M) will require all new homes be fitted with rooftop solar from April 2025. Gov.Koike states that now only 4% of roofs with solar potential are fitted with the PV solar energy panels.
The Tokyo government will offer home buyers subsidies to help maintain demand for new buildings despite the added costs. Of course, solar is an investment which will reduce electricity costs for owners and residents and well as provide a level of energy security with a self-sufficient power supply.
Installing solar panels not only reduces monthly electricity bills but also ensures power availability during outages. Tokyo Portfolio
As many local governments take the lead from Tokyo, this could create initiatives to have mandatory solar PVs for all roofs on all new buildings across Japan. In contrast to nuclear or fossil fuel burning power plants, the costs are much more reasonable, you are creating energy where you need it and when you need it, and solar panels are not dangerous for residents if there is a natural disaster like an earthquake or tsunami.
For even further self-sufficient clean energy, homeowners could combine rooftop solar with a home battery system to allow for energy storage during the day which can be accessed at night. Retire Japan has an interesting blog about installing solar and battery systems in Japan.
Raise Corporate Taxes
Another top issue for the candidates is whether or not to raise corporate taxes. While
- Shigeru Ishiba has stated that he wants companies in Japan to bear more of a tax burden (Reuters).
- Sanae Takaichi has said she would not raise corporate taxes for a few years (Reuters).
- Koizumi says he will follow through with the current government plan to raise corporate taxes and focus on government reform.
Social Issues
- Koizumi as the youngest candidate seems keen to address modern Japan societal issues. For example, he says he will support women to choose to keep their maiden name when they marry- allowing married couples to have different names has been a heavily debated topic in the LDP. Koizumi also made international headlines when he chose to take paternity leave (NYT).
- Ishiba has said he wants to focus more on issues in regional areas outside of Tokyo. As Ishiba is proud of his hometown in Tottori, a focus on supporting rural areas is one of the reasons he may be more popular with the general public across Japan. (Asahi news)
