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Abstract How can leaders successfully craft energy or climate policy to support an initiative that citizens oppose? This paper considers this challenge from a change management perspective applied to public governance. It first draws on change management theory to develop a framework for altering mass public perspectives. The framework consists of four phases: i) problematizing the issue, ii) laying a foundation for change, iii) reshaping perspectives, and iv) entrenching support. Drawing from the insights gleaned from the establishment of Japan's nuclear power program, the paper further argues that in order to succeed in mass perceptual change, policymakers must first clearly understand the contextual environment in which the policy is being formulated. In doing so, policymakers will be better able to customize policy design to appeal to stakeholder perceptions and sentiments. Although the context of this paper is the perceptual modification of public opinion to support nuclear power, the authors suggest that the same framework can be applied to perceptual modification of any policy that the general public might be opposed to. In the energy sector, this could apply to fostering a transition to renewable energy as easily as it applies to nurturing nuclear power development. However, the Japanese case puts forth a caveat in this regard, there is evidence that the mindsets of the Japanese policymakers were predisposed to advocacy of nuclear power and once policymakers commit to a technological trajectory, it is hard to engender a change of course. Therefore, the article concludes by speculating on how the perceptions of policymakers might be similarly altered through efforts from the alternative energy sector to foster policy change. Highlights • 4 elements frame pace, scale and scope of technological change. • The elements are change incentives, alternatives, stakeholder perceptions & contextual influence. • Altering public perception requires 4 strategic steps. • 4 Steps: i) problematize, ii) lay a foundation for change, iii) reshape perceptions, and iv) entrench. • The paper applies this to explain rise of Japan's nuclear power industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural ventilation is an effective strategy for reducing energy use in buildings. The effect is especially significant for buildings with high internal heat generation, such as commercial office buildings. Therefore, naturally ventilated office buildings are becoming increasingly popular in Japan. In this paper, monitoring and measurement results from Japanese studies are reviewed. Thirty buildings are selected for the review based on the search results obtained using a Japanese search engine for academic papers. To identify trends in the design of naturally ventilated buildings, the representative air change rates are compared. The values range from 1 to 10 ac/h, and no specific peak is observed. In addition, no strong correlation is found between the air change rates and floor areas. These results suggest that the natural ventilation performance depends considerably on the design. Additionally, the natural ventilation performance is highly dependent on the building shape, which is generally discussed during the early stages of building design. In this context, it is important to create a clear target air change rate within the range of achievable values for natural ventilation design in the early design stage and to consider this target throughout the building design process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The threat of increased global warming resulting from the use of fossil fuels stresses decision-makers to formulate and adopt policies towards different sectors of the economy. In light of the great earthquake in Japan 2011, energy efficiency also plays an important role in meeting the challenge of power supply shortage. Energy policies towards industry are of particular importance as a major part of the energy in the economy is used in industrial production. The number of papers investigating and presenting experience from energy end-use policies are scarce. Furthermore, for those present, they often only include a very brief analysis. From a public point of view, evaluations of energy programs are of major importance to measure the performance of the programs. From an energy policy designer point of view, it is of major importance to not only see the cost-effectiveness of the policy but also to understand the fundamental mechanisms for the success or failure of an industrial energy program, in order to learn how to improve future programs. The aim of this paper is to present a review of energy end-use policy instrument in Japan and Sweden towards the industrial sector from 1990 to 2014, with special emphasis on industrial SMEs. From the results presented some general conclusions can be made, (1) results show that the cost-effectiveness differs substantially between the evaluated programs, and (2) that from a governmental point of view, subsidies towards energy audit programs seem like the most cost-effective policy. In addition to this (3) the results from the review also stress the importance of a clear strategy for every energy program on how the program is going to be evaluated, ex-ante or ex-post, and how the performance of the program is to be measured. This structure should be included from the start of the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the precedents, policies and factors relevant to a successful energy regime transition which may be applied in the Japanese case, through a review of national leaders in renewable energy deployment. The examples of Germany, Italy and Spain are of particular note for their progress along the transition pathway toward a low carbon energy regime. Transition theory is used as a framework to enable this assessment, and exogenous impacts specific to Japan such as recent and ongoing market liberalization and the Fukushima nuclear incident are considered as pertinent factors which impact upon the transition landscape. Through a comparative assessment of policy approaches, technologies deployed, and social factors impacting upon deployment, lessons are drawn for comparison with current Japanese transition progress, identifying factors critical to the future estimation of the Japanese transition pathway. Future energy transition pathway projections will need to incorporate policy approaches and mechanisms as well as being cognizant of Japan's geographic and cost-competitive RE resource deployment limitations. These limitations alongside existing generation assets (including nuclear energy) are expected to have a significant impact upon Japan's transition from the current pre-development phase toward take-off, acceleration and the stabilization of a new, low-carbon energy regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is important for sustainable development, yet multidimensional challenges exist for policy makers in transformations to sustainable energy systems. Sustainable development is generally recognised as having a three-lens approach: development must balance impacts in the economic, environmental and cultural dimensions. While cultural themes such as governance, motivation, and social values are widely acknowledged in the literature as critical for transformations to sustainability, however, research on these themes has been scant. Culture influences many aspects of society; hence it is important to consider culture when developing policies for sustainable development. Understanding national cultures can lead to greater understanding of what shapes national policy and strategies for transformations to sustainable energy systems. Understanding cultural influences on policy can help other countries to overcome similar challenges in policy making, planning or local resource management. Comparisons between countries serve to further advance the understanding of approaches to such challenges. This paper examines transformations towards sustainable energy through the lens of culture, through a case study of geothermal development in Iceland and Japan. Using Hoftsede's cultural theory framework, we highlight cultural variables relevant to sustainability transformations, with particular emphasis on the challenges of the management of geothermal energy resources, and the management of related conflicts and public participation. We present our findings garnered from interviews with key players in the energy industry in both countries reinforced by an extensive literature review. We find that culture clearly influences the approach to geothermal energy development in both countries and we identify benefits and disadvantages to approaches on overlapping issues and challenges in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to advance a model able to explain the synchronization tendency in energy consumption, under the impact of international technology transfers. The key argument is related to the differences in energy consumption efficiency of local and foreign technologies. One direct testable consequence of the model is that there might be a certain correlation between the energy consumption between countries and/or economic areas where a free movement of capital goods and technologies takes place. Hence, it is further tested, in the framework of a multivariate spectrum analysis, the case of energy consumption synchronization between Europe and, respectively, United States and Japan for a time span between 1981 and 2011 based on the data provided by U.S. Energy Information Administration. There are evidences of a leading behavior of energy consumption in United States and Japan in respect to Europe as well as of short-run phase delays of 2 up to 5 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under pressures to reach net zero emissions by 2050, there is an ongoing transition of energy decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization. Physical and information flows in energy systems are increasingly complex and distributed, leaving centralized structures inefficient. Blockchain technology is suggested as part of the next step in this transition. Blockchain has potential to facilitate distributed, peer-to-peer trading with reduced transaction costs, increased security via cryptography, and prosumer choice. However, there are as of yet multiple challenges to the expansion of blockchain in the energy sector. This paper argues that analysis of these challenges requires a multi-angled approach incorporating technological, economic, social, environmental, and institutional dimensions. First, each dimension is explored, substantiated based on a blockchain-based energy system case in Japan. Concrete challenges of scaling this case toward 2050 and potential opportunities in overcoming these challenges are discussed, leveraging extensive literature review. Finally, an overview of strategic indications is suggested. The findings of this paper present initial indications on challenges and opportunities to overcome them based on a multi-dimensional overview. It is suggested that the factors identified across the dimensions are interrelated. This would in turn call for coherent innovation management and multi-stakeholder innovation ecosystems. Living Labs and regulatory sandboxes are prospective foundations to support such ecosystems, and enable informed decision-making among both private and public sector actors. At large, it is suggested that a holistic and pragmatic approach can benefit the application and scalability of blockchain in the energy transition. • Blockchain has potential to contribute to sustainable energy development. • Challenges and opportunities of a blockchain-based microgrid case were explored. • Coherent innovation management and multi-stakeholder innovation can support change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continued investments in coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) and coal mining are incompatible with the Paris Agreement. As a major investor of both upstream coal mining and downstream CFPP construction, Japanese firms play a large role in sustaining the international coal market. Yet since mid-2018 numerous Japanese companies have announced a range of coal divestment policies. This situation, however, has not been unexamined by scholarship. Additionally, divestment literature outside Japan has focused overwhelmingly on financial institutions rather than the roles of other industry players driving the coal market. To address this gap, this paper examines four industries comprising Japan's international coal market (trading companies, electric utilities, plant equipment manufacturers and financial institutions) to empirically assess the extent of divestment behaviour and identify drivers and barriers. The empirical data reveal a slowdown, but not a cessation, of new and existing coal-related investments. Results also show that the extent of divestment trends can be largely explained by commercial factors, although institutional and structural factors are also at play. These findings have important policy implications. • We examine coal divestment and decarbonisation trends in Japanese firms with overseas coal businesses. • We cover four industry types involved in upstream (mining) and downstream (power plant development). • Findings show a slowdown but not a cessation of new or existing coal investments. • Divestment behaviour is mostly driven by commercial rather than normative factors. • Commercial, institutional and structural factors are hampering further divestment and creating path dependency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]