Energizing Japan
Fossil Fuels
The initial phase of Japan’s postwar revival was powered mainly by coal, as this was the most abundant fuel source domestically. But it wasn’t long before the growth of economic activity in the country outstripped the availability of locally-sourced energy. By the mid-1950s widespread power outages were a fairly regular occurrence. Imported oil was deemed a necessity in order to help maintain Japan’s rate of growth.
Oil imports grew substantially until the 1973 embargo, which caused a spike in prices worldwide. Since that time, Japan has been one of the few countries to actually decrease its total oil consumption.
Compared to the other major economic powers, Japan today is a relatively minor player in the global petroleum industry. Japan’s largest oil company is Nippon Oil, best known overseas for its ENEOS brand of lubricants.
Nuclear
Japan was making significant investments in nuclear technology as early as 1954, in response to the demand for domestic energy production. U.S. and U.K. companies directed the construction of the first nuclear power plants in Japan in the 1970s. At first, Japanese companies were involved only peripherally in building nuclear plants at home, but their involvement was gradually accelerated. Now, Japanese conglomerates like Hitachi and Mitsubishi are among the world leaders in providing nuclear power generation equipment and services.
Monju Reactor in Japan
The growth of the nuclear industry in Japan, unlike that of other countries, was largely unaffected by the Chernobyl or Three Mile Island incidents. Japan increased its reliance on nuclear power steadily until the mid-1990s, when a series of minor accidents, as well as the cover-up and eventual revelation of the Monju reactor accident, caused a dip in public perception and slowed the development of the industry. Several new plants then in the planning stages were cancelled, but by 2005 the expansion of nuclear power in Japan looked to have mostly resumed.
Several new nuclear plants are currently being built in Japan, and nuclear power accounts for about a third of the country’s energy production.
Conservation
The conservation of resources has a long history in Japan. The people of Japan have long been acutely aware of their country’s resource-poor status. The motivation behind the quality of Japanese craftsmanship always seems to have been the notion that, because materials are scarce, it’s important to put them to the best possible use, as was noted by the first Europeans to visit Japan in the 17th century.
Efforts towards conservation were redoubled in the face of the 1973 oil crisis. The Japanese government was one of the most aggressive in setting energy efficiency targets, and taxing the use of fossil fuels. Crucially, these measures were supported by businesses and the public alike. Japanese manufacturers continue to proactively seek out ways to improve production efficiency. Today, Japan’s overall energy consumption relative to the size of its economy is roughly half that of the US or the EU.
If other countries can adopt Japan’s attitude towards conservation, then Japan will have made a significant contribution to the global energy situation, despite having few natural resources of its own.
