Renewable energy use in Japan: national policy, critical response and alternative paradigms
Recent national renewable energy policy in Japan is informed by a very real, severe and continuing energy security crisis and by the perceived need for a national response to global warming. The recent history of this policy response is described, as are the socio-political and economic circumstances which have shaped and constrained it. The substance of the critiques from significant RE energy generator and advocacy groups in light of perceived policy failures is provided. These critiques are based on the research evidence these groups have produced which demonstrates how the full range of RE resources available in Japan have been under-emphasized or ignored. These same groups and sub-national organizations have undertaken alternative RE policy development and implementation strategies which underpin a larger concern for the long-term sustainability of Japanese society. Several of the more striking of these alternatives, the Tδkyδ-Regional Network, the Energy in My Yard concept, and Sustainability Zones, are described.
Origins of the Modern Japanese State: Selected Writings of E. H. Norman . Edited by John W. Dower. New York: Pantheon Books, 1975. vii, 497 pp. Bibliography, Biographical Note, Glossary, Index. $5.95 (paperbound)
OECD code of liberalization, and problems stemming from existing treaties with other states. The last two chapters, on contracts and arbitration respectively, are perhaps most useful for those deeply involved in business dealings in Japan. Chapter VIII treats the contractual problems pertaining to joint ventures, share restrictions, corporate control devices, transfer of shares, and protection of minority interests. Chapter IX discusses dispute settlement, pros and cons of arbitration versus litigation, court assistance under the U.S.-Japanese Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, and auxiliary statutes. The discussion is supplemented by cases and frequent cross-references to practices and conventions in the U.S. One theme that runs through the text is that the Japanese legal system and environment, viewed in the context of her culture and history, are not beyond comprehension or coping with. The author's descriptions and analyses are, in general, understanding and sympathetic toward the Japanese viewpoint. Twelve appendixes on foreign enterprises in Japan, major Japanese corporations, keiretsu, antimonopoly law provisions germane to the subject, nonliberalized technologies (up to 1972), restricted industries, the U.S.-Japanese arbitration agreement, and the cabinet decision (27 April 1973) concerning liberalization of inward direct investment. A glossary of Japanese proper nouns and technical terms in characters, together with frequent citation of Japanese words in parentheses following English technical expressions used in the main text, adds to the usefulness of the book. Typographical errors, common in a book of this sort, are impressively few. An exhaustive bibliography of Japanese and English sources spreads over fifty-six pages. 1,262 footnotes are all clustered at the end of the book, much to the dismay of the earnest reader. Thorough, comprehensive, and meticulously researched, this is a survey of the finest quality. The first definitive study in English of the subject, it fills the void left by other works written over the past fifteen years or so, which have tended to be disconnected, shallow, or unreadable.
Design for renewable energy systems with application to rural areas in Japan
This study uses optimization modeling to study efficient ways to integrate renewable energy systems to provide electricity and heat in rural Japan. The model provides minimum cost system configuration and operation taking into account hour-by-hour energy availability and demand. Grid electricity is available to rural areas of Japan, but it is relatively expensive. Local renewable energy generation can be economic while using grid electricity to compensate for the intermittency of the renewable generation. In the model, renewable electricity can be provided by a combination of wind, photovoltaic, and biomass. Heat can be provided by petroleum, LPG, and geothermal heat pumps (GHPs). We find that due to the relatively high cost of grid electricity, there is significant penetration of wind generation. In turn, the penetration of wind creates economic conditions that encourage GHP penetration. The integrated renewable system reduces the annual cost of the entire system by 31%, and reduces the carbon emissions by 50%.