More on Japan and the Political Context for FITs

December 7, 2009

Andrew DeWit, a professor at Rikkyo University in the Political Economy of Public Finance, has recently published two thorough articles on the political context in Japan. The articles examine the forces at work in the economy and political society especially that of the new ruling party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

Professor DeWit's articles include how the existing limited feed-in tariffs and the DPJ's proposed feed-in tariffs fit into the picture of Japan's economy and energy policy. Both articles are timely with the Copenhagen Climate Summit set to begin.

• Regime Change Short-Circuited: Carbon Emissions and Japan’s Feed-in Tariff System
by Andrew DeWit--One of Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio’s first public acts, in September, was to propose a 25% cut in the country’s carbon dioxide emissions by 2020, relative to 1990 levels.1 This forthright declaration from Japan, long a laggard in dealing with climate change, captured world attention in the fraught lead-up to the December 7 to 12 Copenhagen meeting. . .
• Is Hatoyama Reckless or Realistic? Making the Case for a 25% Cut in Japanese Greenhouse Gases by Andrew DeWit--The September 17 Nikkei Ecolomy (an ecology-oriented publication of Japan's business daily, the Nikkei) carries a Japanese article, "A 25% Cut is Both Possible and Desirable," by Iida Tetsunari, head of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies in Tokyo. . .

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