Only three years have passed since Japan wrote its Sixth Basic Energy Plan, but that short period has proven to be highly eventful and decisive for Japan’s plans to transition to clean energy. Now the time has come for a seventh edition of the Plan, taking into account the new realities on the ground and more forceful and binding energy policies approved by allies and partners.

While Japan’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal is written into law, the Basic Energy Plan, which is the national long-term energy strategy, is currently not legally binding. Faced with a geopolitically tumultuous past three years, the government of Prime Minister Kishida has had to deviate significantly from the Sixth Plan that was written in 2021, which, for example, called for reducing reliance on nuclear power. 

More clarity for the essence of the upcoming Seventh Basic Energy Plan came on May 13 when Kishida spelled out the main direction, stating that there’ll be a grand national strategy showing pathways to a ‘green’ industrial revolution, or in his words, “big socioeconomic changes integrated with green transformation (GX)”. 

Accompanying that strategy will be an energy plan that Kishida has dubbed “GX 2.0”, which will show specific transition pathways. Just a few days later, the 16 members of the Strategic Policy Committee of Natural Resources and Energy, who will write the updated energy plan, kicked off their official discussions. Japan NRG studied their preliminary talking points.