Growing youth climate awareness & anxiety; Apple and cherry farms face struggle amidst climate change; Japanese companies double down on hydrogen, ammonia, geothermal
Japan Energy Currents
Hey Power Japan readers,
Some interesting mix of climate and energy news from Japan over the last couple of weeks. A public opinion poll by the Nippon Foundation that surveyed 17- to 19-year-olds found that a whopping 86% of respondents feel anxious about the effects of climate change and over half feel that their own generation must take action. I’m not sure how well this fits with another recent poll by Ipsos, which showed that on the whole, Japanese respondents don’t feel an acute sense of urgency when it comes to climate change.
Certain industries, however, do clearly see climate-related risks playing out before their eyes. A commentary in the Japan Agricultural News pointed out that apple farmers in Aomori and cherry farmers in Yamagata are suffering the effects of climate change.
On the corporate level, there are conflicting patterns. Some major actors like Marubeni, Kawasaki, INPEX, and Mitsubishi, are surging ahead with hydrogen-related projects and geothermal, thanks to clear signals from the Japanese government and willing overseas partners. However, some companies like the oil refiner ENEOS, who have yet to develop the know-how and economies of scale in low-carbon technologies, succumbed to the current headwinds against key clean energy technologies in Europe and the US.
Keep reading for more details.
Japan Energy Currents highlights recent news and analyses that give us a better understanding of the current moment in Japan’s energy landscape and its role in the global energy transition.
Some articles will be in Japanese and some will be paywalled. But I’ll aim to summarize each article with enough detail so you won’t miss out.
This week, I bring you 8 stories that caught my attention.
Also, in case you missed it, I recently highlighted an important letter by Friends of the Earth Japan that urges Japan’s political leaders not to agree to invest in the Alaska LNG project. The Ishiba Cabinet considers the project as a bargaining chip in its tariff negotiations with President Trump. But, as the letter forcefully argues, the Alaska LNG project is exceedingly costly, contributes little to Japan’s energy security, and will result in significant carbon emissions.
1. Majority of Japanese Youth Say Climate Action Is Their Duty (Yahoo News Japan | in Japanese)
A March survey by the Nippon Foundation found 56% of 17-19-year-olds see their generation as responsible for climate action.
Nearly 90% of the 1,000 respondents said they feel anxious about future climate impacts, while just 18% approved of current government measures.
Many believe past government policies favored economic growth over the environment, yet 60% are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products, and over 40% already take daily steps like reducing food waste and bringing reusable bags.
A Foundation official noted that while eco-consciousness is rising, over 40% doubt the effectiveness of expressing opinions, highlighting the need to "build a culture where tackling social issues becomes a shared responsibility."
2. Japan’s Iconic Fruit Farms Turn 150. But Now They Face Climate Peril (Japan Agricultural News | in Japanese)
This year marks 150 years since Aomori's apples and Yamagata's cherries began cultivation, thanks to Meiji-era government efforts to distribute fruit saplings nationwide. Aomori overcame pests and war, famously breeding the “Fuji” apple in 1962. Yamagata pivoted from canned to fresh cherries like “Sato Nishiki” after economic shocks and trade liberalization.
But now climate change is threatening these farms. Pollinating bees are vanishing, and record snow in 2024 caused ¥206.5 billion in damage to Aomori apples alone. Yamagata cherries suffered high-temperature stress, with heat-related deformities and fears about long-term viability.
Farmers now wonder if fruit cultivation can survive in their regions. The article calls for urgent government support in developing and promoting climate-resilient cultivars and heat-tolerant farming methods.
3. Marubeni signs 'green ammonia' deal with China's Envision Energy (Nikkei Asia)
The Shanghai-based Envision Energy began operating a renewable ammonia plant in Mongolia last year, and Marubeni is now set to buy ammonia from the facility starting late this year.
Marubeni is looking to supply ammonia gas to chemical and industrial industries in Northeast Asia (including Japan & S. Korea).
4. Kawasaki and other Japanese shipbuilders to mass-produce liquefied H2 carriers (Nikkei Asia)
Kawasaki was the first in the world to build a liquefied hydrogen vessel.
Now, Imabari Shipbuilding and Japan Marine United are teaming up with Kawasaki to mass produce these ships.
The Japanese partnership is competing with South Korean and Chinese shipbuilders for the edge in hydrogen ships.
5. INPEX & JOGMEC begin commissioning work for Japan's first blue hydrogen & ammonia project (Hydrogen Insight)
Japan's largest oil company INPEX is starting to work on the first blue hydrogen & ammonia project in Niigata prefecture. This project will be a key part of INPEX’s “Vision 2035,” a strategy that involves doubling down on natural gas and LNG, hydrogen and CCS.
The project will capture and store CO2 in depleted reservoirs in a nearby gas field. Part of that CO2 will be used for producing more gas that are otherwise hard to extract.
This project is expected to create the first end-to-end domestic hydrogen supply chain in Japan.
6. Mitsubishi and other Japanese companies are moving fast to adopt next-gen geothermal (Nikkei Asia)
Through its investment in Quaise Energy — a US geothermal startup — Mitsubishi is looking to bring enhanced geothermal system plants to Japan to power data centers.
Another Japanese company — Toyo Engineering — will start a pilot closed-loop geothermal plant in Indonesia as early as this year. Toyo, too, is aiming to bring the tech to Japan.
With the Japanese government bullish on geothermal, Japanese companies are proactively looking for foreign partnerships to bring their technical know-how to maturity.
7. ENEOS rolls back its decarbonization plan (Reuters)
Japanese oil refiner and distributor ENEOS announced that it's revising its medium-term management plan, including rolling back its target of supplying 250,000 tons of hydrogen per year by 2030 and storing up to 3 million tons of CO2 per year.
ENEOS President Miyata said this move follows the backtracking from carbon-neutral commitments in Europe and the Trump administration. It's also ENEOS' attempt to recover its stock price, which saw a 7% drop since March.
Instead, it will focus on acquiring more LNG interests, which is an industry ENEOS is already familiar with.
8. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is determined to mass produce its new hydrogen engine (Nikkei | in Japanese)
MHI unveiled its new hydrogen engine that can generate electricity for residential and commercial buildings. It plans to commercialize this tech by the end of FY2026 and start mass-producing it for domestic and overseas markets by FY2027.
The company has ambitions of exporting these engines to markets with significant data center power consumption.
That’s is for this week. I’d love to hear your questions or comments on these news stories. Leave them in the comments section or in the subscriber chat.
