Japan and climate change
Japan is relatively small, geographically, consisting of a combination of several small island territories. Despite its size, it is well populated with over 100 million citizens and is one of the most industrialized and greenhouse gas polluting countries in the world. Japan is a signatory to the Paris Agreement and in the context of climate change, it suffers mostly from extreme heatwaves and floodings.
Japan has broken its own heat records in 2025. The August 5, 2025 Watchers.news publication wrote “Isesaki [a city] in Gunma Prefecture [a Japanese State] recorded 41.8C (107.2 F) at 14.26 LT [local time ], on August 5, 2025, setting Japan’s highest temperature on record and making the second time in one week that the national record was broken.” It further states that on the same day, and according to a meteorologist, “at least 14 [Japanese] locations exceeded 40C (104F) marking the highest number ever recorded in a single day and for the first time , four locations registered temperatures above 41C (106F), as of 16.00 LT.” The public health impact of such heat was widespread, watchers.news says “the Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported over 53,000 hospitalizations due to heatstroke.”
It is generally accepted that 2024 was the hottest year the world has ever experienced, (as discussed elsewhere), and the news agency aa.com.tr a Turkish public news organization writing on January 6, 2025, claims that on July 29, 2024 Japan recorded its highest average temperature of the year at 41C (105.8F), in the province of Tochigi, based on reports from Japan’s meteorological service. It claims further that Kyodo News, a Japanese news agency, reported that “the average temperature in 2024 was 1.48C higher than the mean temperature for the 30 years ending in 2020, outpacing the 1.29C increase seen in 2023.” Though 2024 was the hottest year in Japan and the rest of the world, so far Japan has seen its hottest day on record on 5 August, 2025, as discussed above, surpassing its hottest day in 2024.
Heatwaves cause excessive moisture to be absorbed into the atmosphere and this is usually part of the recipe for heavy rains and mass floodings. Reporting on Floods in Japan, The Guardian on Monday, September 23, 2024 stated that on the previous weekend “authorities ordered tens of thousands of people to evacuate as more than a dozen rivers overflowed by late morning on Saturday, and a number of people were rescued from flood water in the cities of Wajima and Suzu,” and that “this was the heaviest rain observed in these locations since comparative date became available in 1929. Niigata and Yamagata prefectures were also affected with 16,000 people told to evacuate.” A prefecture is an area controlled by a local government, its equivalent would probably be a State, in the United States or a province in Canada.
Japan also experienced severe flooding in 2023. Floodlist.com reported on September 11, 2023 that “record rains in Japan have led to significant flooding, causing the loss of at least three lives and over 2,000 homes damaged, according to authorities.” and that “Mobara city in Chiba Prefecture recorded 391.5 mm of rain, beating the previous record high of 272 mm set in October 2013. In the same period Kamogawa (Chiba) recorded 355 mm, Otaki (Chiba) 352 mm and Kashima in Ibakari Prefecture 273 mm.” Floodlist.com also contended that the transportation infrastructure of some prefectures were severely affected.
As demonstrated by Ember-energy, Japan still relies predominantly on Fossil fuels for its electricity generation, it says “the share of Japan’s low-carbon electricity generation has fallen in the last two decades, from 38.2% in 2000 to 31.5% in 2024. This means that it still relies heavily on fossil fuels, which accounted for 68.5% of generation in 2024,” and also the 31.5% is “below the global average of 41%.” Ember-Energy states that of the 31.5% clean-energy electricity generation, solar energy accounts for 10% and wind a minuscule 1%. It argues, “wind only reached 1% of generation in 2024 despite its massive potential, lagging behind the rest of the G7 where wind averaged 11% of total electricity generation.” On Solar, the finding is considered more impressive because it “has grown five-fold from 2014 to stand at 10% of generation. Japan is the world’s fourth largest solar generator.”
Electric vehicle sales in Japan are not as robust as one would expect, given its well established auto manufacturing companies and their long dominance in both the local and international market. In an assessment, globalfleet.com says, “for the first time in four years, electric vehicle (EV) sales in Japan have declined sharply, dropping by 33% in 2024, with total EV sales reaching only 59,736 units,” and that “this decline is significant, given that Japan’s adoption rate now falls below 2% of total vehicle sales, the lowest among advanced economies.” Of the EV sales taking place the Chinese models are effectively competing against their local counterparts, primarily due to cheaper prices. According to globalfleet.com, in 2024 Nissan saw a decline of 44% in EV sales, Toyota 30%, Mitsubishi 64% and Honda stopped producing Honda E, and on the other hand, in the same period, Chinese models BYD and Hyundai, saw sales increased by 54% and 24% respectively. Globalfleet.com suggests several reasons for Japan’s seemingly slow adoption of EV’s, they include the high purchase price of EV’s compared to other vehicles, limited charging availability and the lax posture of the government in terms of financial or tax inducements to potential EV purchasers. “The Japanese government has been less aggressive in EV incentives than the EU or China, where subsidies and stricter emissions regulations are driving adoption.”
——————————————————————————————–