Climate Lobbying Overview: The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) is actively engaged with climate and energy policies in Japan, with negative positions on the carbon tax and emissions trading system (ETS), and mixed positions on energy efficiency, GHG emissions targets, and renewable energy legislation. It appears to support a sustained role for fossil fuels in the power sector alongside nuclear and renewables.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: JCCI appears to take largely negative positions in its top-line messaging on climate policy. JCCI has appeared to support the Japanese government’s 2050 net zero target, including in policy proposals submitted to the government in April 2022 and May 2021. However, there is ambiguity around JCCI’s support for near-term action to achieve these goals, as it has often emphasized the need to clarify the responsibility of the costs involved, for instance at a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) hearing in February 2022 and a Ministry of the Environment (MOE) hearing in March 2022. JCCI appeared to place emphasis on technological innovation, rather than the IPCC-demanded response, to reduce emissions in METI and MOE hearings in April 2022. It has also requested a “realistic” roadmap for achieving the 2050 goal in its engagements with policymakers in May 2022, March 2022, and May 2021, to clarify costs and feasibility for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). JCCI has continually expressed preference for “support to encourage voluntary efforts” over regulatory measures, for instance in engagements with policymakers in October 2021, July 2021, May 2021, and March 2021. JCCI has not appeared to state its position regarding the United Nations Climate Treaty in recent years.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: JCCI appears to hold negative positions on the carbon tax and emissions trading system (ETS), while taking mixed positions on GHG emissions targets, energy efficiency, and renewable energy legislation in recent years. It has disclosed activities that it has taken to influence climate change policy on its website, accessed September 2022, but without detail on the outcomes sought. JCCI has actively opposed carbon pricing policies, stating support for an “incentive approach” instead in the MOE subcommittee on carbon pricing in May 2021, and emphasizing that companies are already “burdened” with high energy costs and various taxes in July 2021. It has directly advocated against carbon taxes, for instance in September 2021 and February 2021. In the MOE subcommittee on carbon pricing in March 2022, JCCI stated that it opposed the introduction of a carbon tax “in a way that would increase the burden on SMEs and impede their growth." It also opposed the ETS in a METI hearing in February 2021, while in a Cabinet meeting in May 2022, it stated that discussions on carbon pricing policies such as carbon taxes and ETS should be “concrete and realistic,” and ensure economic growth. JCCI requested government support for “energy-saving facilities” for SMEs in a MOE hearing in May 2021, while in a MOE hearing in August 2021, it raised concerns around the “increased cost burden” related to measures such as energy conservation, in reference to “significant energy conservation in the industrial and business sectors by 2030” included in the draft Plan for Global Warming Countermeasures.

In a MOE hearing in April 2021, JCCI appeared to support Japan’s 2030 and 2050 GHG targets, calling for the government to “mobilize all possible measures” and provide financial support toward realizing the goals. However, in an interview with Zaikai in February 2022, JCCI Chairman Mimura appeared to emphasize concerns around costs and direction for achieving the 2030 target.

JCCI has recently supported government investments in renewable energy, for instance in Cabinet meetings in August 2022 and May 2022, however it has not supported the feed-in tariff (FIT) for renewables. In an opinion paper submitted to METI in May 2021, JCCI emphasized costs of the FIT system and called for a ceiling to the renewable energy ratio.

Positioning on Energy Transition: JCCI has held negative positions on the energy mix, supporting the use and development of high-emissions energy sources. At Cabinet meetings in August and May 2022, JCCI supported the continued use of oil as well as the development of LNG and the export of ammonia co-firing with coal. Additionally, in an opinion paper submitted to the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy in May 2022, JCCI supported crude oil and LNG in the 2030 energy mix alongside renewable and nuclear energy. In a METI hearing in November 2021, JCCI advocated for a continued role for thermal power, including "high-efficiency coal-fired power." On the other hand, JCCI also supported the decarbonization of transportation at a METI hearing in March 2022, and requested subsidies and financial incentives to support the decarbonization of small and medium-sized enterprises in an opinion paper submitted to METI and the prime minister’s office in July 2022. At a METI hearing in April 2022, JCCI supported the expansion of hydrogen and ammonia, but did not specify a position on their decarbonization. In July 2022 however, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that JCCI Chairman Mimura supported imports of green hydrogen.

InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q4 2022.