Volume 2 Issue 1 ( March 2015 )

Japan is the third largest energy consumer in the world. Presently it consumes nearly 461 Mtoe of primary energy per year and is projected to consume so annually till 2040.  But meeting energy demand has always remained a challenge for Japan as it is one of the weakest nations among the developed countries in terms of energy security. It lacks significant domestic reserve of energy resources, and its hydroelectricity production is not plenty. So Japan has to rely on imports of oil, coal, natural gas, etc. to power the nation. This dependence on foreign resources makes the energy sector of Japan fragile and exposed various risks. The authors in this paper introduce the contingent and structural risks in the energy sector in Japan. This paper argues that to maintain its overall development and reduce energy dependence on others, Japan has to explore the non-conventional and renewable energy options like wind energy, ocean energy, geothermal energy, photovoltaic energy and biomass energy along with the skillful utilization of waste energy and energy cascading possibilities. Towards the goal of energy sustainability, nuclear energy may play an important role in Japan in the foreseeable future.

Keywords: Energy, development, foreign resources, contingent and structural risks, renewable energy.