ABSTRACT
Renewable energies have the potential to increase energy security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and provide an economic basis for the sustainable development of rural areas. Facing typical peripherality issues such as socio-economic decline, poor accessibility, limited political autonomy and tightened budgets, rural communities in Japan are pressed to venture into new institutional arrangements in order to fulfill their statutory duties. Increasing self-sufficiency has therefore emerged as a key strategy for local governments, including energy self-sufficiency. This chapter analyzes some key trends in Japan’s recent energy transformation and energy policy, in particular government policies linking renewable energy to local development, and local-level conflicts related to increases in renewable energy generation. Case studies highlight the diversity of challenges and the need for locally-specific solutions that lead to healthier communities. However, the analysis suggests that structural preconditions and current government policy rather than technology bear the responsibility for prevailing market and governance structures. Renewable energy strategies are potentially successful when technologies and scale match local economic and social needs. Success therefore requires an informed, motivated, and capable local government open for engagement with a broad actor-network including external sources of advice and funding through government subsidies or socially responsible investors.
