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Volume 21 - Issue 9 - September 2023

Contents

Research Article

  • Precedent, Progress, and Missed Opportunities: Conflict and Debates over Legislating Climate Change Emissions Reductions in Japan

  • Keegan Cothern, Junichi Hasegawa
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    14 March 2025, e1
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  • This article considers the negotiations and historical context of Japan's two major climate change bills. We find that the political approach to emissions reductions has resulted in non-specific, iterative reduction commitments from 1998, while attempts to introduce reduction schemes or taxes and define specific long-term targets, as in 2010, largely failed due to stalwart opposition from the energy and heavy industry sectors. Negotiations were further complicated by inter-ministry conflict, the often-rotating prime ministership, and the uncertain role of nuclear power. While these earlier efforts and changing international standards laid track for legislative revisions in 2021, their ultimate realization remains uncertain.