Transforming the Dynamics of Climate Politics in Japan: Business’ Response to Securitization

Takahiro Yamada

doi:10.17645/pag.v9i4.4427

Abstract

In 2020, Japan suddenly changed course and made carbon neutrality its intermediate target. In an attempt to understand this drastic policy change, this article analyzes the effects of climate security discourses on the perception of the Japanese business community, which holds the pivotal position in Japan’s climate policy. It particularly focuses on the effect of securitization on the source–impact asymmetry, one of the intrinsic features identified as a major obstacle to effective climate governance. From this standpoint, the article measures the extent to which the issue of climate change has been securitized in Japan, and also the extent to which the Japanese business community has come to share the securitizers’ sense of exigency. In so doing, this article employs the text-mining method called KH Coder to analyze relevant government documents as well as statements issued by Keidanren (also known as Japan Business Federation). The analysis shows that the Ministry of the Environment together with other governmental actors has collectively securitized the issue within the context of Japanese society, but that its impact on industry has been indirect, pointing to the complexity of its causal impact.

Highlights

In 2019, Japan received two ignominious Fossil of the Day awards from the Climate Action Network for refus‐ ing to phase out coal‐fired power generation and for not upgrading its 2030 target of a 26% carbon emis‐ sion cut from the 2013 level
This article has attempted to tailor the concept of securi‐ tization associated with the Copenhagen School to the context of climate policy
It has empha‐ sized the “performative” nature of a securitization pro‐ cess leading to a redefinition of priorities characterizing the conventional political order

Summary

Introduction

In 2019, Japan received two ignominious Fossil of the Day awards from the Climate Action Network for refus‐ ing to phase out coal‐fired power generation and for not upgrading its 2030 target of a 26% carbon emis‐ sion cut from the 2013 level. In 2018, Japan’s dependence on thermal power reached 85.5% of its total power supply with coal power taking up a third of that portion (Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, 2021). Needless to say, this excessive dependence on coal fir‐ ing has become a major obstacle to Japan’s upgrading of its emission reduction targets. The gov‐ ernment revised the Act on the Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures to give the new 2050 decar‐ bonization target the legal foundation that it needed (“Kaisei‐chikyuondankataisakusuisin‐ho,” 2021)

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Conclusion