Introduction

In previous years, the situation regarding regional economic cooperation and integration has been developing actively. One tangible development was the East Asia Summit (EAS), a 16 member-country cooperation. Two EASs or leaders’ meetings have been held, in Kuala Lumpur in 2005, and in Cebu, Philippine in early 2007. The Third EAS leaders’ meeting will take place in November 2007 in Singapore. There are several issues that the leaders have decided as possible fields for cooperation. Energy issues have been regarded as the most important, as shown in the EAS leaders declaration entitled “Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security”. Singapore has been one of the most active countries for energy cooperation, and has proposed to host the First East Asia Energy Ministers Meeting, a move welcomed by the other leaders.

This paper discusses the policy side of Japanese energy efficiency and conservation. Chapter 1 by Makoto Nishimura, Executive Vice-President of the Mitsui Global Strategic Studies Institute, Japan, is on energy efficiency from a private business perspective.

This paper is divided into three parts. The first part examines the situation on energy consumption in Japan as a brief background. The second part discusses energy conservation policies and measures. International cooperation for energy efficiency is discussed in the final part.

The material for this chapter was mainly contributed by colleagues in Tokyo. Therefore, credits go to the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

The Present Energy Consumption in Japan

Figure 2.1 compares energy consumption in three sectors from 1973 onwards, when the first oil shock took place. The figures in the second column indicate the amount of energy consumption in each sector, with the amount in 1973 taken as 100. The figure shows that the energy consumption in the commercial and residential sector and the transportation sector has been steadily increasing, as indicated by the number 247 and 212 respectively. Meanwhile, the industrial sector's indicator has been almost flat.