Basic Energy Plan (2014)

Last updated: 5 November 2017
In April 2014, the Government of Japan formulated the Strategic Energy Plan in order to show to the public the basic direction of Japan’s energy policy under the Basic Act on Energy Policy. The Basic Energy Plan is a policy document developed by the Government of Japan under the Basic Act on Energy Policy, which entered into force in June 2002. The plan presents the basic principles of Japan’s energy policy, namely, “safety,” “energy security,” “improving economic efficiency,” and “environment suitability”. In October 2003, the government introduced the First Plan, and it publicized the Second Plan in March 2007 and the Third Plan in June 2010. The 2014 plan is the fourth plan, and the first to be released after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

On April 11th, 2014, the Cabinet decided to approve the new Strategic Energy Plan as the basis for the orientation of Japan’s new energy policy, considering the dramatic changes in energy environments inside and outside Japan, including those caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent accidents at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

The principles of the policy is centered on the following themes such as stable energy supply, economic efficiency, environment, and safety taking into account global viewpoint and economic growth to build multilayered and diversified flexible energy demand-supply structure.

This policy sets out Japan’s long term energy demand and supply policies and measures to be implemented in a comprehensive and planned manner toward the future. Of those polices and measures are the 10 key themes, which includes energy efficiency and conservation under section II: Realization of an advanced energy-saving society and smart and flexible consumer activities.

The section II articulates two subsections: “1. Enhancing energy efficiency in each sector” and “2. Leveraging demand response that promotes efficient energy supply.” The former includes the following points:
(1) Enhancing energy efficiency in the business and household sectors: in the residential and commercial sectors, improvement of energy efficiencies
(2) Promotion of diverse energy efficiency measures in the transportation sector
(3) Acceleration of energy efficiency in the industrial sector and others
(4) Measures to achieve further energy efficiency that are suited to the status of energy consumption by businesses

Prior to this Basic Energy Plan in 2014, there were the following policy documents pertaining to energy and energy efficiency policy orientation in Japan:
# Energy Conservation Frontrunner Plan (2006) (for the past record, please refer to the data entry "895")
# New National Energy Strategy (2006) (for the past record, please refer to the data entry "1819")
# National Policy Direction on Energy Conservation 2007 (2007) (for the past record, please refer to the data entry "1687")
# National Energy Conservation Promotion - New 2007 Campaigns for Further Energy Efficiency (2007) (for the past record, please refer to the data entry

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