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The 11 March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster will forever be remembered as a once-in-a-lifetime tragedy. The changes to Japan's energy system following Fukushima may nonetheless leave future generations with a more sustainable legacy. A growing body of literature hypothesizes that transitions like this one have the potential to reshape Japan's energy system due to (1) an exogenous shock which (2) enables policy reforms that (3) gain momentum with the support of civil society organizations. However, this set of claims is based chiefly on small-nqualitative case studies at the national level in Europe. A significant opportunity exists to test the hypotheses on low carbon transitions across multiple cities in Asia. This article begins to fill that void with an econometric analysis of electricity use time-series data for 18 Japanese cities from 2007 to 2012. The results suggest that Japanese cities adopting post-Fukushima energy savings policy reforms experienced greater reductions in annual household electricity use than those not adopting reforms. At the same time, cities with higher concentrations of non-profit organizations (NPOs) saw greater reductions in annual household electricity use from the Fukushima disaster as well as post-shock policies. The research underscores the difficulties of testing transition theories and the need for qualitative research to complement inferences from quantitative studies on transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing frequency of large-scale natural disasters generates massive energy and resource demand for recovery. We developed an inoperability multiregional input–output model as a quadratic programming model with production and greenhouse gas (GHG) restrictions to develop a low-carbon recovery plan for natural disasters. In a case study of a hypothetical Nankai Trough earthquake in Japan, the model identified critical differences in the supply chains required for meeting the recovery demand with and without GHG emission constraints. The results show that the recovery demand in disaster-affected regions increases direct and indirect GHG emissions (carbon footprint for the recovery) by 32% (344 MtCO 2 -eq) before the disaster, but the emission increase can be offset by shifting production activities to short-distance transportation and low-carbon electric power regions. By optimizing the design of which regions can be used to secure the materials and energy needed for recovery, we found that a reduction potential of 68 MtCO 2 -eq and 225 MtCO 2 -eq can be achieved in the transportation sector and electric power sector. We concluded that low-carbon recovery design can be achieved by preemptively assigning regions to accommodate the increased production associated with disaster recovery, and prioritizing the introduction of low-carbon technologies in regions with low disaster risk. [Display omitted] • An inoperability multiregional input–output model was formulated as a quadratic programming model. • The model was applied to a hypothetical Nankai Trough earthquake in Japan. • Choosing a low-carbon supply chain in the electric power and transportation sectors has a great impact. • Preemptively planned low-carbon recovery plans can offset the carbon footprint for recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]