On March 4, 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published its Japan 2021 Energy Policy Review, which provides energy policy recommendations to help Japan achieve its clean energy transition.[1] In October 2020, the Prime Minister of Japan announced that Japan will aim to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. However, despite making substantial progress in the last decade, Japan remains reliant on imported fossil fuels. Japan’s energy supply carbon intensity is among the highest of IEA member countries, according to the report. The IEA report makes several recommendations for reaching Japan’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal. The IEA says that Japan should develop several scenarios for decarbonization to prepare for the case that some low-carbon technologies are not deployed as quickly as expected. Japan should also establish market-based methods to encourage investments in efficient and low-carbon technologies. The IEA recommends that the government encourage investments in the electricity network and system operations to facilitate the large-scale deployment of variable renewable electricity sources. In the light of the January 2021 energy crisis, the IEA recommends advances in electricity and gas market reforms, including making the Electricity and Gas Market Surveillance Commission a more independent regulator. For nuclear, the IEA report recommends investing human and financial resources to accelerate the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s safety reviews of nuclear reactors.
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