Policies of the New governing party of japan

Japan's post-stimulus package policy and future strategies to promote greener choices are now in the hands of the new government. The Democratic Party of Japan entered parliament on 30 August 2009 after winning a historically large margin. It was an outcome that was widely regarded as a clear demonstration of voters' frustration with the previous Liberal Democratic Party-led government's lack of leadership and action, particularly in areas such as reduced government spending, bureaucratic reform, pensions, medical services and national health insurance. According to the new government's manifesto (the only public policy information available at the moment as it is still in the process of forming a new cabinet), it will promote and implement the following environment-related policies:

• Create a target of 25% reduction of 1990 CO₂ emission levels by 2020, and 60% reduction by 2050. This will be achieved by promoting global warming countermeasures, nurturing green industries, establishing a domestic carbon trading market, and introducing a global warming measure tax (renewable energy ratio target: 10% by 2020);
• Abolish most highways toll-fees all over Japan (probably except those in large cities such as Osaka and Tokyo Metropolitan Highways);
• Eliminate provisional additional tax rates: Gasoline Tax (+25% provisional rate since 1974), Diesel Oil Delivery Tax (¥32.1 per liter), Automobile Weight Tax, and the Automobile Acquisition Tax which is equivalent to US$25 billion;
• In the future, merge the Gasoline Tax and Diesel Oil Delivery Tax into a Global Warming Countermeasure Tax. Merge the Automobile Weight Tax and Automobile Tax, and abolish the Automobile Acquisition Tax to avoid duplicate taxation with the Consumption Tax;
• Introduce of a Feed-in Tariff Policy with fixed prices to promote renewable energy electricity;
• Subsidize the following items: photovoltaic units for home use, environmentally friendly automobiles and energy-efficient household appliances.

3.1 CO₂ Reduction Target of 25% by 2020

At the Asahi World Environment Forum on Monday, 7 September 2009, the new Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced that his government would reduce Japan's greenhouse gas emissions by 25% of 1990 levels by the year 2020—equivalent to reducing one-third of current levels within in just 11 years. This is in contrast to the former PM Taro Aso, who pledged a target of only 8% reduction from 1990 levels. The Hatoyama target is in line with IPCC forecasts, which estimate that a reduction of emissions by developed nations to between 25–40% of 1990 levels between 2012 and 2020 would reduce the risk of Earth's average temperature rising more than 2 degrees this century. However, there is considerable doubt on the feasibility of the target if it were to be achieved through domestic reductions alone. One study by Professor Tetsuo Yuhara, Research Director for the Canon Institute for Global Studies and a Member of the Japanese Committee established to address the feasibility of the mid-term target, argues that successfully reaching the target would require across-the-board sectoral CO₂ reductions of at least: 29% by industry, 34% by transport, 41% by commercial interests, 50% in residential usage, and 41% energy conversion. It would also require the construction of 15 new nuclear power plants⁵. It is likely that the target would have to be achieved through a combination of domestic reductions and offsets through purchases of carbon credits from emissions reductions made in developing countries.

3.2 Proposed Abolishment of Highway Toll-fees

In general, the response from the public regarding the abolishment of the highway toll-fees has been ambivalent, with some polls showing only 30% support. One Japanese NGO has estimated that more than 9.8 million tons of CO₂ would be emitted if highway tolls were abolished (although this estimate is somewhat premature due to the usage of very limited survey models). This is equivalent to 0.75% of Japan's total emissions in 2007, which was 1.3 billion tons. This is highly significant when compared to Japan's Kyoto target of 6%. The justification for the toll-free highways is based on a study by the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism). The study assessed the economic benefits of reducing and abolishing highway tolls by comparing the effects of what would happen if drivers who normally drove on local roads to avoid the tolls, shifted to using toll-free highways. The study compared the time required to drive, fuel expenses, and economic loss incurred by traffic accidents, and converted it into monetary values. Some toll-setting scenarios (30% discount, 50% discount, and toll-free) were proposed in this study as part of the economic stimulus package. Setting the maximum limit of highway tolls to ¥1,000 during weekends is estimated to generate economic benefits equal to US$17 billion – this policy has now already been put into action. The study also concluded that toll-free highways would bring direct economic benefits of US$27 billion or around US$78 billion if the indirect economic benefits are included.

Judging from the new government's manifesto, some (but not all) of the green policies which promote the production of environmentally-friendly goods have already been adopted as part of the economic stimulus package set by the previous administration. Therefore, it seems likely that existing policies will be extended, although the amount of subsidy provided might be lower for more long-term measures. The automobile industry has already expressed to the new government their desire to see the current policy continue.

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