Latest Reported Greenhouse Gas Emission Level: 1.213 billion Metric Tons of CO2 in 2019: an increase of 2.7% over 1990 Levels (Source: National Institute for Environment Studies) According to the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2018 was 1,240 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (Mt CO2 eq.)....
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, Japan has since experienced several significant climate disasters and adopted new policy changes. In this report, we are highlighting some of the most significant changes. In late summers and early autumns, Japan is often hit by tropical cyclones that devastate regions along the coasts with very heavy...
Climate Change Research in Japan is mostly concentrated in universities and designated Climate Policy research institutions around the country. Here, we introduce the two major research institutions and their research on Climate Change. The National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES:国立環境研究所) was established in 1974 as a focal point for environmental research in Japan. In 2001,...
Climate adaptation and resilience stand out as rapidly emerging areas of employment as the effects of climate change are felt worldwide. According to the UNEP, green jobs are defined as “positions in agriculture, manufacturing, R&D, administrative, and service activities aimed at substantially preserving or restoring environmental quality”. They seek to protect the environment and conserve...
Over the past decade, Japan has experienced a variety of record-breaking extreme weather events, confirming how catastrophic climate change is. Japan is a country prone to disasters and rains, which has grown increasingly intense in recent years due to global warming. The most recent example is the torrential rain caused in Kyushu in July 2020....
2020 was predicted to be a splendid year for tourism in Japan. Since Tokyo would be hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the government had aimed to attract a record-high 40 million visitors. Even in January, hotels, ryokans, and airlines were eagerly rolling out promotional campaigns and preparing for an influx of travelers. However, as...
The COVID-19 pandemic has become the defining global health crisis of our time, with deep social and economic implications in the years to come. The Bank of Japan has warned that it could plunge the country into deep economic stagnation. According to a survey carried out by Teikoku Databank (TDB), more than 10,000 Japanese businesses...
In 2019, energy-related CO2 accounted for approximately 90% of Japan’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Under the Paris Agreement, Japan has committed itself to a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of reduction in GHG emissions compared to 2013 – 26% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Eventually, it hopes to achieve net-zero emissions “as early as...
At the government level, a tax on oil-based products and energy resources such as gas, LPG, coal and others has been charged at the rate of 289 yen per tCO2, starting from 2012, in Japan. The tax raised is being used to help support the building of energy-efficient infrastructure, renewable-energy production, and other measures to...
During September and October, Japan was hit by two powerful typhoons, Faxai and Hagibis. Both were among the strongest storms to hit Kanto, a region in central Japan where Tokyo is located, in decades: the winds sped up to 225 km/h and rain approached to 1 meter within 24 hours in some places [1]. The...
