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The increasing presence of e-books (electronic books) has become a major focus in countries around the world. In the United States, e-books represented 28% of the total book sales for 2012. In Japan, the conversion from paper books to e-books is expected to accelerate by the prevalent use of smartphones and tablet PCs. It is therefore important to quantitatively evaluate the environmental load of paper books and e-books for a sustainable society. In this study, paper books are compared to e-books read on different electronic devices (e-ink tablets, tablets, cell phones, smartphones, laptop computers, desktop computers and portable music players) through a case study on a 224-page book. The study is based on key primary data such as use time and reading speed for each device and aims to minimize assumptions made in other studies. GHG emissions for paper books are 1.24 kg-CO 2 e/book, and are reduced to 1.11 kg-CO 2 e/book when the effect of paper recycling is taken into consideration. The results for e-books under average use-time conditions range from 0.25 to 0.91 kg-CO 2 e/book with the e-ink tablet having the lowest emissions. When the average use time of each e-book device is applied, the paper book has a higher impact than all the e-books. However, sensitivity analysis shows that the impact of paper books can be lower than that of e-books for larger screen devices such as tablets, laptops and desktops when the reuse of books is considered or the e-book reading device is hardly used during its life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study demonstrates how the environmentally weighted material consumption (EMC) indicator can be used to assess the resource efficiency of bioeconomy policies by calculating thirteen categories of environmental impacts associated with the production and the use of 146 biomass resources in Japan. The total environmental impact, expressed in the Japanese life cycle database in Japanese yen (JPY), decreased from 2,444 × 109 JPY in 1990 to 1,870 × 109 JPY in 2010. Supply chain related emissions (upstream) represented more than 98% of the impacts for all years. Land use, resource consumption, global warming, and urban air pollution were the main impact categories accounting respectively for 45%, 32%, 14% and 8% of the impacts. Ten products were found responsible for more than half of the impacts: rice, raw milk, beef cattle, painted printing paper, broiler, rolls of newsprint, hen egg, squares, common plywood and lumbers. Improvement of the production processes, reduction of consumed amounts and dietary change were identified as potential strategies for reducing the environmental impacts of these materials. Still, finding the best policy option may require the development of a life cycle assessment database able to differentiate organic and conventional agriculture and to better represent the production and environmental specificities of importing countries. • Environmentally weighted material consumption as an indicator of bioeconomy. • Detailed analysis of 146 biomass materials' environmental impacts. • Land use and resource consumption are the main impact categories. • Ten products are responsible for 50% of the total impacts. • Yield increase, diet shift, and paper recycling can reduce biomass related impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-scale woody biomass energy systems have an inherent ability to aid in emissions reduction while stimulating local economies and, as collective energy systems, are strongly connected to supply chain design based on local conditions and stakeholder integration. Despite an abundance of forest area alongside the promotion of biomass in energy policies, however, woody biomass utilization still remains low in Japan. The woody biomass supply chain, considered as a socio-technical system, involves a complex, cross-sectoral stakeholder network in which inter-organizational dynamics necessitates well-organized management based on an understanding of formal factors such as technology, as well as informal factors such as social relations and culture. In this paper, success factor perceptions from across the woody biomass supply chain are investigated based on semi-structured interviews with four stakeholders in the Kyushu region of Japan. Identified success factors here are: 1) respect of values & traditions, 2) transportation infrastructure, 3) business model integration, 4) relationship & trust, 5) local vitalization and 6) biomass quality control. A convergence as well as divergence of perceptions are observed, involving both formal and informal dimensions. Aiming to balance perceptions and to enable long-term success of woody biomass in Japan, a series of policy implications are drawn, including cross-ministerial integration, knowledge building on wood logistics, forest certification, local coordinators, biomass quality control standards and a feed-in-tariff for heat. This paper suggests a new arena of policy-making based on the importance of considering both informal and formal dimensions in energy policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because transport in the port hinterlands heavily depends on roads with negative externalities, much social interest has been in modal shifts (MSs) to rail and shipping with lower environmental impact. Currently, leading industry sectors to ambitiously embrace technological innovations to decarbonize—consequently, in line with these changes, the significance of MSs should change; however, no previous studies have comprehensively presented the overall CO 2 emissions and transport mode shares for future regional cargo transport. This paper presents a scenario analysis of CO 2 emission reductions in the Japanese domestic hinterland of international maritime container transport based on future scenarios of technological innovation and change in shipper behavior. The simulation results using the global logistics intermodal network simulation model showed that up to 87% CO 2 reduction is possible, and the primary driver for this is technological innovation. Moreover, the significance of MSs fluctuates depending on the advancement of technological innovation, suggesting that MSs hold a degree of import as a decarbonization measure during the transitional phase toward carbon neutrality (CN) as technological innovation advances. The results of this study, which fluctuated considerably by scenario and timing, have policy implications with respect to the path to be followed toward CN, including whether to promote MSs. • Scenario analysis of CO 2 emission reductions in Japanese maritime transportation. • Up to 87% CO 2 reduction possible using technological innovation. • Significance of modal shifts fluctuated with the degree of technological innovation. • Policy implications suggesting that the path toward carbon neutrality is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analysed CO 2 emission pathways for the Japanese iron and steel industry towards 2030, taking into account the likely development of process capacities that could flexibly adapt to a range of projected future crude steel production levels (“optimal capacities”) while maintaining minimum capacity utilisation rates. Coke and pig iron production capacities were optimised to the levels that enable flexible operation for 90–120 Mt-crude steel/y, compared to 110 Mt/y in 2010. Operational constraints were applied to the capacity utilisation rates (minimum of 85%) and the maximum use of coke and pig iron substitutes. This paper also assessed the implications of the aforementioned flexible operation across a range of crude steel production levels on the future scrap balances. This study calculated the optimal capacities for coke ovens and blast furnaces in 2030 to be 29 Mt-coke/y (compared to 43 Mt/y in 2010) and 83 Mt-pig iron/y (compared to 90 Mt/y in 2010). Under these optimal capacities and the aforementioned range for crude steel production levels, the projected total CO 2 emissions were 4–21% below 2010 levels. If the 2030 production level remains at 105 Mt/y, which equals the 2015 production level and the 1973–2015 average, the total emissions will be 9–16% below 2010 levels, depending on the level of emissions reduction effort. These results indicate that the industry is likely to considerably overachieve its voluntary emissions reduction target for 2030 (0.1% below 2010 levels). Moreover, it was found that the lifetime extensions for existing blast furnaces and coke ovens have limited impact on CO 2 emissions while significantly reducing the investment needs. The study also showed that the low crude steel production (90 Mt/y) combined with high pig iron and coke consumption levels to maintain minimum capacity utilisation rates may lead not only to an increase in specific CO 2 emissions per tonne of crude steel but also to a net export of obsolete scrap up to 17 Mt, which is nearly twice the historical high. Towards 2030, Japan would need to consider not only opportunities to maximize the use of steel scrap but also the development of an extended steel scrap trade infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1997 to 2012, 114 Japanese industry associations implemented voluntary action plans, which are not enforced by laws or regulations, to reduce carbon emissions. This paper investigates whether the establishment of these voluntary action plans by industry associations contributed to the adoption of a carbon emissions target at the firm level within the associations. Using a survey of approximately 1000 firms in Japan, this paper finds that small and medium-sized firms in sectors with voluntary action plans were 2–4 times more likely to establish their own carbon emissions targets than were firms belonging to industry associations without voluntary action plans. In contrast, the paper finds that voluntary action plans did not affect the establishment of emissions targets among firms with more than 3000 employees. This result is consistent with the survey responses, which found that periodic follow-ups under a voluntary action plan helped small firms to obtain important pieces of information and that industry associations played an important role in this process. In general, small firms have relatively large potential for energy saving, but the lack of information prevents its realization. The results confirm the importance of voluntary action plans in removing the information barriers of relatively small firms and encouraging them to implement carbon emissions targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On March 11, 2011, the Tohoku earthquake caused major damage to almost all public infrastructures including energy and water facilities in Fukushima Prefecture. Following the nuclear disaster, which lead to a shortage of energy, the government of Japan enacted new policy measures to redefine its energy-mix after its earlier commitment to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009 to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 25% from 1990 levels by 2020. In 2015, Japan ratified the Paris Accord and set a national greenhouse gas reduction goal - 26% below 2013 levels by 2030. To meet this requirement, Japan needs to restructure its current electricity consumption by identifying the optimal demand of electricity by households, commercial buildings, and public utilities. This calls for public infrastructures to manage their electricity consumption efficiently by adopting appropriate electricity conservation methods using precision monitoring systems. To support the policy of the government of Japan toward conservation of energy, in this paper, we outline the energy demand of a public utility system, namely a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, and based on the data obtained using an innovative information and communication technology (ICT) tool. Using the monitored data, we further predict the electricity demand for each process of the WWTP using a Markov switching model. These models have high repeatability of monitoring results for each process according to various indices. In our results, all R2 values were more than 0.8; mean absolute percentage error values were under 10% for total electricity consumption and the water treatment process, and the relative root mean square error rate of each process was under 20%. Based on the results, we developed a future electricity consumption prediction model for WWTP total electricity consumption and the consumption of each process. The study emphasizes the need for an innovative ICT and advanced analysis system for supporting the governance of public facilities. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction and associated marginal costs (MC) in Japan when the government enhances the transition to battery electric passenger vehicles (BEVs) by implementing a rapid investment regime for charging stations and fossil-fueled vehicle bans. Important factors affecting BEV emissions are battery performance, battery production technology, electricity generation mix and battery minimum state of charge (SOC min). We find that in addition to a rapid investment regime, a fossil-fueled vehicles ban policy is necessary to significantly increase the uptake of BEVs and achieves the deepest reduction in life cycle GHG emissions. Under this policy, with carbon neutral electricity by 2050 and a low SOC min charging regime, life-cycle GHG emissions are reduced by 48% and the MC by 53% in 2060. A carbon neutral light transport fleet in 2050 will require carbon capture and storage to offset 24 million tonnes-CO 2 equivalent of emissions even if electricity is carbon neutral by 2050 and users adhere to a low SOC min charging regime. [Display omitted] • Enhanced infrastructure development has a little impact on the uptake of BEVs. • The more stringent vehicle ban reduces life cycle GHG emissions the most. • Battery charging regime is crucial to GHG emissions reduction and associated cost. • Improving battery and vehicle production is crucial to GHG emissions reduction. • Carbon neutral light vehicle transport by 2050 requires carbon capture and storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impacts of carbon pricing policies on firms' greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We include two carbon pricing policies: carbon tax and emission trading scheme (ETS) at national and sub-national (province) levels, measured as policy existence (binary variable) and carbon price (continuous variable). Firms' GHG emissions are measured as total emissions and emission intensity. Using unique recent firm-level data from 2010 to 2021 from three East Asia countries (Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the People's Republic of China (PRC)), we obtain the following key findings. First, the national carbon pricing policy significantly reduced firms' GHG emissions and GHG emission intensity in Japan and the ROK. The greater the carbon price, the greater the impact. Second, the subnational carbon pricing policies implemented in two provinces of Japan (Saitama and Tokyo) decreased firms' GHG emissions. Third, heavy industry sectors such as energy, utilities, and industrials experienced a substantial decrease in GHG emission intensity due to the carbon pricing policy. Finally, our main results are robust to different model specifications and various measures of firms' GHG emissions. Although literature studying the ex-post impact of carbon pricing on emissions at country and sector-level is abundant, this paper contributes to the existing literature providing empirical evidence of the impact of carbon pricing policies on firms' emissions using firm-level data, which is highly limited especially in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Considering the great significance of residential sector for deep decarbonisation in the medium and long term, this study analyses the effectiveness of an emissions visualisation approach and economic incentives in promoting household low-carbon practices. The data was gathered by a questionnaire survey from 406 households in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, which received eco-home diagnosis in the past three years. The result confirms that around 40% of the samples installed home energy management system (HEMS) as the visualisation tool, and many households received low-carbon subsidies; however, few of them have utilised the low-interest loan from the government of Hyogo. Household lifestyle efforts are less associated with the policy measures and some differ due to family characteristics, i.e., the age of head of the household. Replacing household equipment with low-carbon items is largely determined by the visualisation approach and availability of economic incentives. As an example, the installation of HEMS would increase the probability of replacement with an electric heat pump water heater by 25.6% and the introduction of solar PV system by 55.9%. This study assists in understanding household low-carbon practices and their relationship with the related policy measures. Highlights • This paper is a survey study of Japan's household low carbon practices. • A total of 406 valid respondents were gathered for the analysis. • The possession of main low carbon equipment in households was clarified. • The visualisation tool and economic incentives are effective for low carbon replacement. • The payback times for low carbon investment and cost level for loan application were measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To discuss measures to promote reuse in society, a holistic understanding of reuse businesses and markets is indispensable. This paper presents a simulation model for reuse businesses. To formulate the model, first, prerequisites for reuse businesses are outlined. The simulation model includes these prerequisites as its parameters, and its outcomes yield patterns of reuse markets. The paper presents the formulation of the model and simulation outcomes under four parameter settings. The correspondences between the simulation outcomes and case studies of reuse businesses in Japan are discussed to verify the propriety of the model. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a new perspective on the reuse businesses of independent reuse business companies (IRBCs) in Japan. A majority of previous studies on reuse and remanufacturing have focused on the businesses of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). During the past twenty years, however, in Japan, IRBCs have grown rapidly, especially those that launched new types of secondhand shops. The author proposes that the reuse businesses of IRBCs can provide useful information for academics, OEMs, and policy makers. A key finding is the strategies developed by IRBCs to ensure the volume of used products collected and to stimulate demand for used products. This paper compares the features of IRBC reuse businesses with those of OEMs, and discussed the results and implications of an interview survey with select IRBCs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The development of new technologies leads to the extensive use of abiotic resources and possible disruptions in the supply of material due to political, economic, and environmental reasons. To understand the impact of such disruptions on the economy, a comprehensive criticality assessment is necessary. As Japan is the third largest economy globally and heavily reliant of imports, the criticality of abiotic resources might become a pressing issue. However, previous criticality assessments of Japan have been limited in scope, failing to assess the overall supply disruption risks. Thus, this paper aims at identifying critical aspects of 35 abiotic materials used in the Japanese economy using the SCARCE method – an approach considering supply risk, vulnerability, social and environmental aspects to comprehensively analyse criticality. In the context of supply risk and vulnerability, the minerals niobium and phosphorus have been identified as the most critical. The criticality of niobium can be attributed to its significant trade barriers and production concentration, while that of phosphorus is primarily influenced by its high demand and lack of substitutes. Gold is the material with the highest criticality from environmental point of view due to the environmental implications related to its production. In the social context, the most critical mineral is antimony due to high level of small-scale and artisanal mining. In addition to the Japanese criticality, the results reflect the global one, showing the materials globally less critical and thus especially relevant to the Japanese economy. Next to providing results of 35 materials for evaluating their role in the Japanese economy, the underlying Python code is provided for adaptation for further criticality assessments of other regions. Based on these results, specific resource management strategies can be developed for Japan to ensure the availability of essential abiotic resources for the Japanese economy. • Criticality assessment with a vast array of economic, environmental and social indicators. • Criticality assessment applied to the case study of Japan and transparent calculation methodology. • Platinum and lignite pose highest supply risk for Japan. Critical in terms of vulnerability are phosphorus and nickel. • The environmental and social hotspots for Japan are gold and antimony respectively. • Japanese and global criticality comparison highlights the importance of lignite, lithium, and nickel for Japan's economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to estimate the costs and CO 2 emissions of wood biomass co-firing in the Tohoku region of Japan. A woody biomass supply system is designed, which comprises of four processes: collection, resource transportation, preprocessing, and fuel transportation. Preprocessing is further divided into two processes: drying and fuel production. Sawmill residue, construction waste, forest residue, thinning residue, and fruit-tree pruning residue are treated as raw materials. Wood chips, pellets, and torrefied pellets (known as black pellets) are regarded as bio-fuels. The raw-material and bio-fuel transportation pathways are optimized using a geographical information system (GIS). In the Tohoku area, the availability of raw-material is 3.6 PJ/y, and the results indicate that the preprocessing plant locations should be widely distributed in that region, because the resource transportation costs have a significantly greater influence on the costs and emissions than the scale effect of the preprocessing facilities. The chip production case exhibits the smallest energy consumption of 3.8 GJ/t, the lowest supply cost of 1558 JPY/GJ, and the largest CO 2 reduction of 252 × 10 3 t CO 2 /y, whereas the pellet production case exhibits a supply cost and CO 2 reduction of 1643 JPY/GJ and 229 × 10 3 t CO 2 /y, respectively. The energy consumption, energy waste, and cost of torrefaction are greater than the reductions in the transportation energy and cost due to wider distribution of the preprocessing plants; thus, the black pellet case has a larger supply cost than the chip and pellet cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) can be synthesized from biomass through dehydration, dimerization, and metathesis reactions from ethanol or methanol-to-olefin reaction of synthesis gas. This paper examines the socioeconomic aspects of such biomass-derived resin production, which are composed of environmental impacts quantified by life cycle analysis (LCA) and the structure of generated value flows specified by structural path analysis (SPA) based on a Japanese input–output table. Missing inventory data were estimated by process simulation using Aspen Plus™ and Aspen HYSYS™ with design information extracted from the literature, patents, and design heuristics. LCA based on actual and demonstration plants with process simulation shows the environmental advantage of biomass-derived resins on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. PE production has the largest effect on GHG emissions reduction, followed by bioethanol from a gasoline mixture, and PP. The uncertainties in agricultural processes also influence the potential application of international and domestic bioethanol production and synthesis gas obtained from the gasification of waste woods. According to SPA results for gasoline, PE, PP, and plastic products, the cyclicality of resins and plastic products, which was quantitatively analyzed as the total cyclic cash flows from target products to final demands, is much larger than that of gasoline. Based on these results, biomass-derived resin production has the potential to increase added values in an economy, with a corresponding decrease in GHG emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, agents for sludge dewatering have received extensive attention both from fundamental and applied research. Papers in the field of sludge dewatering agents are mainly concerned with the synthesis and characterization of agents as well as their interaction mechanisms with sludge. On the other hand, patents, which are characteristically different than papers, involve the invention and application of sludge dewatering agents. However, these researches rarely use bibliometric technology and social network analysis to provide a better understanding of the fundamental and applied researches in this specific field. This paper presents a quantitative analysis based on a total of 338 (out of 1126) core papers from Web of Science Expanded and 961 (out of 4678) core patents from Derwent Innovation to provide valuable suggestions that may promote further development in the field of sludge dewatering agents. The core point of this paper is to explore the relationship between fundamental research and applied research in the field of sludge dewatering agents through citation, characteristics of different countries/regions, collaborations of research area and organizations. Our results underline that highly cited papers support applied research by citating information among them. With respect to countries, Japan paid more attention to applied research, whereas the USA performed well both in fundamental research and applied research. China has high quantity in both papers and patents in agents for sludge dewatering. However, the papers per capita of population of China is low and the pattern still needs to optimized to improve the quality in this field. The unique development path revealed that developing countries still have a long way to go in terms of technology innovation. In addition, collaboration network of research areas has shown strong cooperation among applied researches, however they lack connection with fundamental sciences, such as physics or chemistry. Furthermore, collaboration network of organizations disclosed the necessity for upstream enterprises (agent producers) to work closely with downstream enterprises (agent users) in the sludge dewatering. Image 1 • A bibliometric analysis on agents for sludge dewatering was conducted. • Highly cited papers support applied research. • Japan is application-oriented and USA performed well in both fundamental research and applied research. • Developing countries still need to optimize their pattern or promote technology innovation. • Interdisciplinary collaboration covering the lifecycle of industrial chain is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woody biomass is widely used as a renewable energy source to produce electricity and heat, with the goal of reducing CO 2 emissions, enhancing energy security, and rejuvenating rural economies. In Japan, the energy usage of woody biomass is currently incentivized by feed-in tariff (FIT) programs. However, a variety of unpredictable factors ( e.g ., a drastic change in national energy policy and feedstock supply) might undermine the sustainability of woody biomass energy businesses. In order to clarify conditions for designing sustainable woody biomass energy businesses from environmental and economic viewpoints, this paper proposes a method for undertaking scenario analyses where the influences of future uncertainties are analyzed. For quantitative assessment, a woody biomass energy business is modeled as a sequence of processes using a discrete event simulation technique. A case study is carried out with a particular focus on the energy business with a 10 MW woody biomass power generation plant in a Japanese rural community in the period of 2015–2034 (20 years). The results reveal that the business has potential to gain economic profit and halve CO 2 emissions when compared with the worst case scenario. Critical factors for enhancing the sustainability of the business include collecting the amount of wood residue used for electricity generation and keeping the selling price of electricity from woody biomass at over 35% of the current price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the novel viewpoint that the two major corporate sustainability disclosure theories – that is, legitimacy theory and voluntary disclosure theory – are not exclusively competing, this study re-evaluates the two theories using our quality-based climate disclosure measures developed based on the 2018 CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) questionnaire. From Tobit and ordinal logistic regression analyses with the public chemical firms in the United States and Japan, we document that firms with higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are more likely to choose extensive low -quality climate change disclosure rather than high -quality. This finding supports the legitimacy theory that firms tend to utilize low -quality climate change disclosure to obfuscate and legitimize their GHG emissions. However, we do not find evidence supporting the voluntary disclosure theory that superior performers prefer extensive high -quality climate change disclosure rather than low -quality. This paper contributes to the literature by providing new theoretical insights on whether and how firms utilize quality-based climate change disclosure strategies in an attempt to achieve the goals accompanied by the two theories. Furthermore, our findings provide an important practical implication for regulators and policymakers that more concrete and stringent climate disclosure rules could effectively curb inferior performers' discretionary behavior to engage in low -quality disclosure. [Display omitted] • This study analyzes firms' purpose-driven choice of climate disclosure quality. • We developed quality-based climate change disclosure measures with multiple facets. • Legitimacy theory and voluntary disclosure theory are reconciled with each other. • Firms with high GHG emissions choose low -quality climate change disclosure. • The quality-based climate change disclosure supports the legitimacy theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of water-related disclosure in Japan. In an era when water is becoming more widely recognised as a risk to businesses, drivers of corporate water-related disclosures for stakeholders are examined through the lens of managerial stakeholder theory. Using content analysis of annual, sustainability and integrated reports for the year 2013/14 a water-related disclosure index was derived for a sample of 100 listed companies with different water sensitivity in industries taken from the Nikkei 225. Six potential drivers of company water-related disclosures were identified. OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) multiple linear regression was used to analyse the data. Size, water sensitivity and ownership concentration were found to be significant predictors of water-related disclosures of the sample companies. While media exposure was rejected a significant reverse relationship to that hypothesized was established. Cross-listings and profitability were not associated with water-related disclosures. In this first large sample study of the factors which affect corporate water-related disclosures the examination of large Japanese companies suggests industries with larger, water-sensitive companies and dispersed ownership have the highest disclosure levels and will need to respond proactively to stakeholder concerns. Contrary to expectation greater media exposure was associated with less water-related disclosure. International listings and profitability were not drivers of disclosure. Opportunities exist for mentoring of smaller companies by large firms, and provision of new accounting services, especially where there is low ownership concentration with higher stakeholder concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building sector accounts for a large percentage of the total national energy consumption in most of the countries, thus it is critical to formulate and implement appropriate energy saving policies in the building sector. This paper focuses on energy saving policies in the building sector by conducting a comparative study between Japan and China. The exiting Building Energy Saving (BES) policies, actual effectiveness of policy implementation and obstacles to the effective policy implementation are compared in sequence. Related policies are categorized into four groups: control and regulatory instruments; economic/market-based instruments; fiscal instruments and information and voluntary actions. Policy effect analysis identifies that BES policies have promoted building energy saving in both Japan and China. Obstacles comparison reveals that Japan and China shared many obstacles including high transaction costs and lack of applicable methodology. Compared with Japan, China is suffering more obstacles such as inefficient enforcement, insufficient levels of information and awareness and immature financial regulation system. Based on the previous findings, common suggestions for overcoming these obstacles of BES policies in Japan and China are presented, such as the accurate methods of baseline identification and emission accountings, innovative incentives, and more capacity building activities. Distinct suggestions for Japan and China are also added by considering their own situations so that both countries can further improve their BES policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the concerns over climate change and the escalation in worldwide population, sustainable development attracts more and more attention of academia, policy makers, and businesses in countries. Sustainable manufacturing is an inextricable measure to achieve sustainable development since manufacturing is one of the main energy consumers and greenhouse gas contributors. In the previous researches on production planning of manufacturing systems, environmental factor was rarely considered. This paper investigates the production planning problem under the performance measures of economy and environment with respect to seru production systems, a new manufacturing system praised as Double E (ecology and economy) in Japanese manufacturing industries. We propose a mathematical model with two objectives minimizing carbon dioxide emission and makespan for processing all product types by a seru production system. To solve this mathematical model, we develop an algorithm based on the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II. The computation results and analysis of three numeral examples confirm the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturing accounts for 37% of the global energy demand. Few researchers have conducted a holistic energy assessment of factories where energy beyond production equipment is accounted for, and environmental impact assessments of machine tool manufacturing are even more limited. All the while, factories need to understand where energy is used, how to allocate it to their products, and where savings lie. This paper quantifies the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of a machine tool manufacturer located in Iga, Japan. Six plants within the factory are investigated whose primary operations range from precision machining to product assembly. Furthermore, a model of the energy consumption of each plant's HVAC system is developed and used to evaluate the environmental impacts and operating costs at alternative sites in China, Germany, and the US. Location was found to have a significant influence on the environmental impacts and resulted in changes in the annual energy consumption relative to the Iga baseline that ranged from −10% to 8%. Additionally, opportunities for improvement were identified by comparing the energy intensities of the equipment within the plants to industrial averages. Since the plants in this study use widespread manufacturing processes and varied climates were investigated, the methods and strategies that were developed can be extended to other discrete manufacturing facilities to identify opportunities for cleaner production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper evaluates the employment impact of introducing geothermal power generation on Japanese society. An extended input–output table is created for estimating not only direct employment but also the indirect effect associated with geothermal power generation. Our originality lies in the use of published financial statements data for estimating goods and services required for the newly formed sector of geothermal power generation. This assures reliability and transparency of the geothermal power generation input structure estimation. The estimated embodied employment intensity shows that the electricity demand for geothermal energy can generate employment of 0.89 person-years per GWh through the five life-cycle stages of resource survey, manufacturing, construction, operation and maintenance, and disposal. The employment created in the operation and maintenance stage accounts for 66% of the total, indicating that geothermal power generation can generate long-term employment opportunities in service sectors. On the other hand, a large portion of the total employment for both wind and PV power generation is temporary and created in industrial sectors at the manufacturing and construction stages. The present study reveals that there is a distinctive difference in terms of employment effect of geothermal in comparison with wind and PV power generation. It is further observed that 86% of the total employment is domestic to Japan, higher than the domestic ratios of wind and PV power generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the frequent coastal activities of human beings, tens of thousands of tons of floating marine plastics pose a serious threat to marine ecosystems and human survival. This paper studies the feasibility of regional marine plastic garbage management, taking the Northwest Pacific as the research object. According to the Cobb-Douglas utility function of the costs and benefits of plastic processing in China, Japan and South Korea, the Shapley value method was used to analyze it. The study found that the data were substituted into the Shapley value model of cooperative game for calculation, and the results showed that any country joining the triple alliance U would create greater benefits, and obtain higher benefits than the sub alliance. It is a triple win situation for China, Japan and the South Korea to jointly manage marine plastic in the Northwest Pacific. The results of the model confirm that the three countries are willing to maintain long-term cooperation on marine plastic governance, this method can be used to solve the trans-national marine governance innovatively and promote regional ocean cooperation governance. At the same time, by comparing the Northwest Pacific Plan with other action plans, China, Japan and South Korea should abandon political controversy, seeking common ground while putting aside differences, to cooperate fully to curb the growing trend of plastic waste problem in the Northwest Pacific, and contribute to the sustainable development of regional marine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's economic growth has been progressively moving towards reducing carbon intensity. In parallel, Japan has long been regarded as the pioneer of energy efficiency worldwide. Why have these two economic giants had such different experiences of carbon intensity in the past decades? A closer examination in both countries may hold vital clues, which are still very unclear. This paper compares the patterns of carbon intensity between China and Japan, in which we propose a bilateral-country decomposition framework by combining production-theoretical decomposition analysis and index decomposition analysis. The decomposition highlights the effects of emission factor, energy structure, sectoral structure, substitution among labor-energy and capital-energy, and technological progress. The results show that the energy structure, sectoral structure, and capital-energy substitution are the main drivers behind that China is much higher carbon intensity than Japan, accounting for 26%, 25%, and 38%, respectively. Yet, these effects also narrowed the carbon intensity gap between China and Japan over the years. Furthermore, the labor-energy substitution effect has generally decreased the carbon intensity gap. The technological effect has a minor impact on the carbon intensity gap per year, while it plays a dominant role in enlarging the carbon intensity gap over time. • An improved approach is proposed to decompose driving forces of carbon intensity. • The approach is applied to carbon intensity gap between China and Japan. • Potential energy intensity of each sector is uncovered by input substitution. • Enabling policymakers in developing countries to reduce carbon intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progress in the adoption of market mechanisms for climate change is overall laggard in Japan and the related study on business policy perspective is limited. Aiming to close the research gap, this paper measures Japanese company's awareness and approval of market-based instruments for energy saving, including financial subsidies, carbon taxes and greenhouse gases emissions trading schemes. The relationships between company's policy awareness and approval with pre-classified determinants are identified by econometric analyses. The data were collected from 230 respondents by a questionnaire survey in Hyogo prefecture. Overall, the sampled companies are confirmed to have low awareness and modest approval of market-based instruments currently. Significant and positive relationship exists between a company's size and its policy awareness. Financial subsidies and tax credit are preferable while carbon pricing policies are barely acceptable for the companies. A company's policy approval is significantly determined by the company's characteristics, such as organizational size and sector belongings. Empirical evidences from this analysis facilitate the understanding of business opinions on market-based instruments in Japan. The Japanese government is suggested to make efforts in promoting the industrial policy awareness and approval with a focus on specific categories of companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: With the rapid urbanization, many cities are facing various environmental issues, resulting in local ecological degradation. It is critical to conduct a scientific assessment so that appropriate solutions can be found by considering the local realities. Many evaluation methods, such as emergy analysis, material flow analysis, data envelopment analysis and ecological footprint analysis, have been proposed. Among them, ecological footprint analysis has been applied as a useful policy and planning tool for evaluating urban sustainability. The aim of this paper is to evaluate two industrial cities by using ecological footprint method in Shenyang, China and Kawasaki, Japan. The two cities have been “friendship cities” for over 30 years and have similar industrial structures. In order to present a holistic evolution picture on their ecological footprints, we collected all the relevant data for the period of 1997–2009. The results show that Shenyang's ecological footprints experienced a significant increase, while such figures in Kawasaki were quite stable, but per capita figures in Shenyang were much less than those in Kawasaki, indicating that a gap between the two cities still exist. In order to further improve its sustainable development, Shenyang should closely collaborate with Kawasaki, learning Kawasaki's eco-town experiences and other environmental management experiences. In addition, Shenyang should also learn from other leading cities and try to optimize its industrial and energy structure and improve their citizens' environmental awareness so that it can move toward a more sustainable development direction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Coffee is an important global beverage, and has received significant attention especially in terms of the social and environmental sustainability of its production. This paper calculates the product carbon footprint (PCF) and conducts an analysis of energy usage for six alternative coffee products. The analysis shows that espresso coffee had the lowest impact (0.13 kWh and 49 g CO2 per serve), while canned coffee provided the highest impact (0.76 kWh and 223 g CO2 per serve). The latte had the second highest embodied energy impact, with 0.54 kWh and the highest PCF of 224 g CO2 per serve. On a per millilitre basis however, espresso coffee provided the highest impact (0.0048 kWh/mL and 0.8 g CO2-eq/mL), followed by canned coffee and the latte. This indicates that care must be used in the selection of an appropriate functional unit, as the ranking of PCF can be overturned according to the basis of comparison. The highest contributing factors were the emissions from milk, packaging (for the can) and the production stages of the green coffee beans. Despite only holding around 17% of the market share of consumed coffee, the canned coffee product contributes around half of the national carbon footprint from coffee consumption. Current commercial incentives for consumers to use their own cups were compared to carbon taxation and found to value carbon approximately three orders of magnitude higher than carbon market rates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper seeks to measure industrial energy saving activities (ESAs) and identify their determinant factors via an empirical study of companies in Hyogo, Japan. The surveyed companies exhibit high participation ratios in the pre-listed ESAs, especially those related to managerial measures. The classified factors are partly confirmed by econometric analysis. Whereas external pressures do not appear to alter the level of involvement of a company in ESAs, internal factors show a significant and positive influence. These findings point to the need for higher levels of support for industry as a whole from policy makers and industrial associations, to enhance energy saving practices within industry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Under the pressures of rapid industrialization and urbanization, many Asian countries are facing the challenge of reducing air pollution and CO2 emissions simultaneously while maintaining their economic growth. Under such a circumstance, a growing attention is focused on successful implementation of co-benefit policies that are designed to reduce both air pollutants and CO2 emissions. However, the concept of co-benefit policies must be developed further in order to identify its quantitative and qualitative validity, which can be assessed using a reliable methodology for the estimation of co-benefits and through clarification of the importance of this approach for stakeholders in urban environmental policy-making. Based on a systematic review of co-benefit research and air pollution control policies in Japan, we investigated the local air pollution control policy in Kawasaki City, one of the industrial centers of Japan, and confirmed that it has contributed both to the sharp decline of atmospheric sulfur dioxide (SO2) levels and to energy efficiency improvements in local industries. Our results suggest that preventive actions and local-scale compliance enforcement tools (that are uniquely designed and act as a form of agreement between government and individual firms) could contribute significantly to successful implementation of co-benefit policies in the long-term. We conclude our paper with a discussion of linkages between low-carbon technology innovations and policy designs that could further nurture co-benefits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study considers the emissions implications of co-combusting imported ammonia in coal-fired power stations. The study adopts a supply chain approach, estimating the emissions reduction potential of 20% ammonia co-combustion in coal-fired power stations in the country of use, and the emissions associated with ammonia production in the country of origin. The paper considers the emissions implications of using different ammonia production technologies: Haber-Bosch (HB) ammonia production with hydrogen generated from steam methane reforming using natural gas (SMR), with and without carbon capture and storage (CCS); Haber-Bosch ammonia production with hydrogen generated from renewable sources; and fully renewable electricity generated ammonia. The empirical setting of the study is an ammonia supply chain encompassing Japan and Australia. The results show co-combustion of ammonia produced with SMR-HB provides no net benefit for the combined country emissions, as ammonia production related greenhouse emissions in Australia are equivalent to the emission reductions in Japan. In contrast, co-firing ammonia produced from fully renewable sources reduces emissions in the two countries in 2030 by 43 MT per annum. SMR-HB processes with varying levels of CCS reduce annual emissions by 16–34 MT. Based on the results, different policy options are suggested for managing the emissions associated with a Japan-Australia ammonia supply chain. • Japan actively pursuing ammonia/coal co-combustion to reduce power sector greenhouse gas emissions. • An Australia-Japan ammonia supply is examined at a country boundary emissions basis. • Choice of ammonia manufacturing approach has significant impact on emissions. • 40 MT pa saving in Japan offset by 39 ± 11 MT pa increase in Australia from Best Available Technology. • Only a fully renewable ammonia manufacturing process reduces emissions in both Australia and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the development and diffusion of photovoltaic (PV) technology in Japan and The Netherlands. Both cases are analysed with the Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework, which focuses on a particular technology and includes all those factors that influence the development and diffusion of a technology. This framework proposes seven System Functions: key processes that need to be fulfilled for a TIS to function well. We include international factors in the framework such as import share, export activities, foreign direct investment and international knowledge exchange. Japan is found to have a well functioning PV TIS with a strong industry and a large market for PV, whereas the Dutch have so far established considerably less. Based on the differences in the cases we formulate a number of lessons for the Dutch PV TIS. 1) System functions such as guidance of the search (F4) and advocacy coalitions (F7) need to be strengthened in order to reinforce each other in a positive way; 2) formulate, maintain and translate consistent long-term goals into long-term policies and stimulation measures in order to allow a gradual build-up of networks and skills/expertise; 3) build up and maintain legitimacy within the institutional setting; and 4) strengthen the TIS in order for the SMEs to grow in terms of capital and capabilities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Taking dioxin emissions from incineration and the recycling of home electric appliances in Japan as two case studies, this paper aims to clarify the impact of environmental policy on technological innovation. For our case studies, relevant Japanese patent data were gathered and analyzed for the period 1990–2008. To demonstrate that environmental regulations induce technology innovation, we conducted statistical analysis to compare the number of patents related to each regulation between the period under regulation and period outside the regulation. The results show that after the regulations were introduced, new technological developments occurred for most technological types and the total number of related patent applications was larger even when controlling for other exogenous and endogenous factors such as business cycles and expenditures in Research and Development (R&D). We finally argue that while a possible weakness in these types of direct regulations is the lack of incentives for further innovations, they can still induce innovation if they are flexible and with specific targets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although, in the theory of industrial ecology, a recycling industry is essential in order to establish a closed loop material system, in practice, the contribution of that industry is still limited, and more studies are needed to enlarge its role. The objective of this paper is to quantitatively analyze factors that influence the performance of recycling projects in Japanese Eco-Towns. We develop two multi-regression models using questionnaire survey data from recycling facilities and cross-sectional data from 23 Eco-Towns to analyze the amount of waste treated by and the operating rate of recycling facilities. Dependent variables are introduced through a review of the literature on industrial symbiosis and the situation of Japanese Eco-Towns, focusing on three necessary features: recycling boundaries, government policy intervention, and local collaboration and partnership. The results of two simple regression models of recycling facilities in Eco-Towns offer several fruitful insights that aid in understanding the performance of recycling projects. First, recycling facilities’ geographical proximity to users of recycled products can contribute to high operating rates. Second, subsidies for constructing facilities do not improve recycling projects’ operating rates. Third, collaboration, rather than competition, among recycling facilities can improve their operating rates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the case of SMEs, ISO 14001 and EMAS have been the most used models of reference for implementing Environmental Management Systems (EMSs). Their success has eclipsed that of other alternative SME models deployed in the European Union and Japan. In this paper the authors analyze the content and objectives of one of these models, the Ekoscan model, and compare it to the ISO 14001. Furthermore, a survey composed of 262 participating companies is presented, where motivations, obstacles and benefits of adopting both models in SMEs are compared. The article concludes that only the drivers differ in a significant way, since the perceived obstacles and benefits of adopting the respective models by the SMEs are similar (although their respective signaling and market value are different). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyzes a recent attempt by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to replace diesel vehicles with low-emission vehicles, particularly, compressed natural gas vehicles. As commonly observed in the transportation sector, when strong complementarities among the components of a complex technological system exist, a failure in coordination results to a state of technological lock-in. In this respect, the public sector can serve a focal role in coordination to promote new technologies. The Tokyo experience illustrates the potentials and limitations in overcoming a state of technological lock-in by effective management of the behaviors and expectations of the relevant actors involved in using, producing, and supporting alternative clean vehicles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Environmental problems have been considered to be serious in the construction industry. Waste management pressures are pressing very hard with alarming industrial warming signals. Among the different types of construction and demolition wastes, concrete is about 81 percent of the volume of construction and demolition waste in Australia. To minimize the concrete waste generated from construction activities, recycling of concrete waste is one of the best methods to improve the environment. However, situations of concrete recycling in different countries vary considerably. Japan is a leading country in recycling concrete waste, with 100 percent recycling of the wastes that are used for new structural applications. This paper investigates the current concrete recycling situations in Australian and Japanese construction industries. A questionnaire survey and structured interviews were conducted. In comparing the current concrete recycling situations between Australia and Japan, it should be noted that major difficulties found from Australian and Japanese construction industries are on different phases of the transition to recycling of construction wastes. Therefore, it is suggested that the Australian construction industry should be: i) developing a unified policy in concrete recycling; ii) providing financial governmental support; iii) developing clear technical specifications or standards on the use of recycled aggregate for structural applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Microgrids are an attractive way to deal with energy depletion and environmental deterioration as well as grid pressure. However, the energy configurations of microgrids comprising various uncertain and variable resources are significantly sophisticated. Focusing on the peak shaving ability and carbon reduction effect of microgrids, this paper proposes a multi-criteria evaluation method that aims to maximize the comprehensive value of microgrids. To unify these criteria with different perspectives when solving the optimization problem, the peak shaving and emission reduction effects are converted into economies through peak load cost and carbon tax rather than using the weighting method. The results of a case study in Higashida, Japan obviously evidenced the superiority of multi-objective optimization. Although the improvement of the peak shaving ability and emission reduction effect was partially at the expense of system cost benefit, the total cost under multi-criteria was still reduced by 2.13%, which indicates that the balance and optimization of the economic benefit, peak shaving and carbon reduction were realized. The effect of each evaluation criterion on the optimal configuration was analyzed by comparing the optimization results under objective functions with different criteria combinations. High requirements for carbon reduction can promote the development of renewable energy, and peak shaving ability should be ensured by controllable and stable power generators. • Analyze the characteristics of grid load for five multi-types buildings in Japan. • Propose evaluation criteria including, economic, peak shaving and CO 2 emission. • Introducing peak load price and CO 2 tax, evaluation criteria are converted into cost. • The configuration of microgrid is optimized quantitatively under multi-evaluation. • Effect of each criterion is carried out by comparing different criteria combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency in the Japanese industry is one of the highest in the world. As a consequence, reduction of CO2 emissions is considered to be difficult and costly. However little attention has been paid as of yet to changes related to so-called non-energy use of fossil fuels. The analysis in this paper suggests that a large number of options exist for emission reduction in the Japanese petrochemical industry. This includes the introduction of biomass feedstocks, the introduction of new catalytic production processes, and changes in waste handling. The use of bioplastics and the use of CO2 feedstocks seem costly options for GHG emission reduction that should not be applied on the short term. Japanese GHG emissions can be reduced by 7.7% if the optimal set of emission mitigation options is applied. About 60 Mt emission reduction (4.9%) can be achieved by changes on the supply side, another 35 Mt emission reduction (2.8%) can be achieved by changes in waste management. While changes in waste management can be implemented before 2010, biomass introduction on the supply side will probably require a longer lead-time. About half of the emission reduction is cost–effective, but will require further technology development. The other half can be achieved at a cost level of 10,000 yen/t CO2 (80 US$/t CO2). The latter part is based on proven technology that is currently not cost–effective. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A timely transition of socio-technical systems to more sustainable alternatives is crucial in mitigating climate change and other environmental problems. While innovation plays a significant role in such transitions, policy makers and the scientific community have become increasingly aware that the deliberate destabilization of existing socio-technical regimes—including associated institutions and technologies—is also often necessary. However, such aspiration is politically contested. This paper presents the Endowment-Practice-Institutions (EPI) Framework to study the contestation of institutions underpinning socio-technical regimes. By integrating key theories from Institutional Sociology and Political Economy, the framework conceives actors' capability of influencing institutional structures to be dependent on their institutional work practices and the various endowments that enable these practices. We present Japanese coal policy as an example to illustrate how the framework can be used to assess actors' institutional work and their influence on institutional outcomes. In addition to providing new theoretical insights, the framework helps to systematically analyze agency-driven mechanisms pertinent for the maintenance or destabilization of socio-technical regimes. [Display omitted] • Destabilization of incumbent socio-technical regimes is crucial for transitions. • Changes in formal and informal institutions can destabilize regimes. • Regime actors can defend by maintaining and repairing institutional structures. • We introduce the EPI Framework to explain outcome of institutional contestations. • Japan's coal regime is presented to illustrate the heuristic value of the framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses the stochastic cost frontier models to investigate recycling cost efficiencies for 1,809 municipalities in Japan from 2011 to 2018. Our major findings are as follows. A U-shaped relationship exists between the waste management cost per ton and recycling rate. The current recycling rate in Japan is much higher than the per ton cost-minimizing recycling rate. The cost-minimizing recycling rate is 7.6%, in detail it is 6.9% for organized and 6.8% for non-organized municipalities. However, the actual mean recycling rate is 21.7%, and the policy target is 27.0%. By decreasing the cost inefficiency, the predicted waste management cost per ton can be reduced from 34,521 yen (approximately USD 336) to 32,849 yen (USD 385) for organized municipalities and from 39,612 yen (USD 320) to 37,422 yen (USD 364) for non-organized municipalities, even though the actual mean recycling rate is 21.7%. Furthermore, as recycling rates change from 21.7% to 6.9% and 6.8%, the costs would reduce to 28,198 yen and 31,624 yen for organized and non-organized municipalities, respectively. Cooperation among adjacent municipalities and the outsourcing of the waste collection function to private companies would reduce waste management costs per ton. The collection frequency of glass is a cost-inefficient factor, whereas that of paper is a cost-efficient one. For the robustness check, we divide the sample into small, medium, and large municipalities. The U-shaped relationship between the waste management cost per ton and recycling rate still holds for small and medium municipalities. • Recycling cost efficiencies for 1809 municipalities in Japan are examined. • The current recycling rate in Japan is found to be much higher than the cost-minimizing rate. • The cost-minimizing recycling rate is 7.6%. • Determinants of the recycling efficiency are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweden and Japan are environmental leaders in their regions; however, Sweden has shown much better performance in the development of a circular economy. This paper suggests that different environmental discourses between the two countries help explain this gap. An actor-discourse analysis was conducted, taking the case of curbside collection systems. Results show that in Sweden, producers have physical and financial responsibility for collection and recycling while municipalities are responsible for planning and providing information. Economic incentives are well considered, and easy waste sorting at home is a shared norm, fostering systematic improvement of curbside collection systems and drastically increasing recycling rates. In Japan, in contrast, producers address recycling, municipalities do collection, and consumers cover sorting. The necessity of promoting consumer awareness of recycling is broadly accepted, but systematic thinking has not been introduced; as a result, primitive curbside collection systems remain mainstream in Japan, and it is not easy to sort waste at home. Thus, Sweden has favored economic rationalism while Japan administrative rationalism and, the former has been more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]