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A view of "uchi-mizu" (water-sprinkling) in summertime, performed in Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. This traditional way of cooling off is enjoyed by people from all walks of life.
Japan is dependent on imports for 81.2 percent of its energy supply. Since experiencing the two oil crises of the 1970s, Japan has taken measures to promote energy conservation, introduce alternatives to petroleum, and secure a stable supply of petroleum through stockpiling and other measures. As a result, its dependence on petroleum declined from 77.4 percent in fiscal 1973 to 45.2 percent in fiscal 2009. However, Japan is growing increasingly dependent on fossil fuels (including natural gas and coal) other than petroleum and this calls for steps such as the greater use of non-fossil fuel energy (renewable energy and nuclear power).
In fiscal 2009, the total primary energy supply in Japan was 21,752 petajoules, down 6.3 percent from the previous fiscal year. Its breakdown was: 45.2 percent in petroleum, 20.3 percent in coal, 17.4 percent in natural gas, 11.1 percent in nuclear power, and 3.0 percent in hydro power. Other sources were also used, though only in small quantities, including energy from waste, geothermal, and natural energy (solar energy, wind power, biomass energy, etc.).
In an effort to prevent global warming, the government has been reducing energy waste by taking such measures as energy saving and improving power generation efficiency. The government has also been promoting the introduction of methods of generating electricity that do not produce CO2, including non-fossil fuel energy.
Energy units
Joule (J) is employed as a common unit (International System of Units: SI) for energy across all energy sources in presenting international statistical information. The unit Petajoule (PJ: 1015 or quadrillion joules) is used here to reduce the number of digits. The energy of one kiloliter of petroleum is calculated using the following formulae:
| 1 kiloliter of petroleum | = | 3.87 1010 joules |
| 1 petajoule | = | 1015 joules |
Petroleum is traded internationally using the volume unit of barrels. One barrel equals approximately 158.987 liters.
Japan's final energy consumption was increasing almost steadily since the mid-1980s. It then turned downward in fiscal 2005, but a 3.6-percent increase, relative to 1990, was recorded for final energy consumption in fiscal 2009. While energy consumption in the industrial sector has remained mostly level, there were sharp increases in energy consumption in the commercial and residential sector and in the transport sector. The transport sector includes energy consumption for all transportation purposes, whether household or commercial. In the commercial and residential sector, energy consumption by the commercial sector in particular has risen in recent years. This has been mainly caused by (i) the rise in the total floor area of office buildings and large-scale retail stores; (ii) an increase in the amount of air conditioning equipment and lighting appliances used in those facilities; and (iii) the growth of office automation.
Japan's energy consumption is thus expanding fairly consistently, yet the volume of primary energy required to generate the same level of GDP (primary energy supply per GDP) is lower in Japan compared to other industrialized countries. This indicates that Japan is one of the most energy-efficient countries in the world.
Approximately half of Japan's primary energy supply of petroleum, coal and other energy sources is converted into electric power.
Electricity output (including in-house power generation) in Japan totaled 1,113 billion kWh in fiscal 2009, down 2.9 percent from the previous fiscal year. Of this total, thermal power accounted for 66.7 percent; nuclear power, 25.1 percent; hydro power, 7.5 percent; and other sources, 0.6 percent. In the field of thermal power generation, huge replacement has been made from petroleum to natural gas.
Gas production was 1,241 petajoules in fiscal 2009, down 2.2 percent from the previous fiscal year. Of this total, natural gas plus liquefied natural gas (LNG) accounted for 96.7 percent; and the remaining 3.3 percent were petroleum gases, such as volatile oil, liquefied petroleum gas, etc. Gas purchases for fiscal 2009 totaled 230 petajoules.
Gas sales for fiscal 2009 totaled 1,416 petajoules, or year-on-year drop of 1.9 percent. Of this total, 49.4 percent was sold to industry, 28.5 percent to residential use, 13.6 percent to the commercial sector, and 8.5 percent to other sources of demand.
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