Weekly Japanese Industry and Policy News (Apr. 14-Apr. 20, 2023)

The EU-Japan Centre is pleased to start a new weekly service by publishing brief summary of the latest information from the Japanese governmental organizations & private companies/organizations. A couple of minutes reading to be informed about what is happening in Japan's policy, economy, EU-Japan relations, and innovation.

*Information is deemed correct at the time of release. 

Idemitsu to produce clean hydrogen from waste
Idemitsu Kosan announced on April 13 that it has started a joint study with H-Cycle, a US company, to commercialize domestic production of clean hydrogen using municipal waste and other waste generated in Japan as a raw material. . This initiative uses a gasification reforming furnace that utilizes HC's exclusive "plasma reforming" technology in Japan to convert waste into hydrogen with high efficiency, producing approximately 200 to 300 tons of hydrogen per day. The aim is to build an initial plant that will process waste to produce hydrogen in the early 2030s.

This gasification and reforming furnace are a system that collects synthesis gas obtained by gasifying and reforming waste and melts the ash. Biomass raw materials such as garbage contained in waste offset CO2 emissions during hydrogen production, so it is a production method that emits less CO2 than conventional hydrogen production.

In this initiative, the gasification reformer will be installed as a waste treatment facility in each region in cooperation with local governments, and hydrogen will be produced at the same time as waste treatment. The clean hydrogen produced is expected to be used for industrial purposes, mobility applications such as fuel cell vehicles, and as a raw material for synthetic fuels. High-concentration CO2 generated in the manufacturing process will be utilized through CCS and CCUS (collection, storage and effective use of CO2). In addition, the detoxified slag (detoxified black glass-like substance) that remains when the waste is melted at high temperatures will be recycled as roadbed materials and raw materials for concrete.

IDEMITSU website:
https://www.idemitsu.com/en/news/2023/230413.html

G7 environment ministers' meeting closes, agreement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50% in automobile sector
The G7 climate, energy and environment ministers' meeting of seven major countries held in Sapporo ended after two days of discussions on April 15 and 16. According to the ministerial statement released, with regard to the decarbonization of the automobile sector, based on the number of vehicles owned by each country, including engine vehicles, G7 countries will reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2035 compared to 2000. They agreed to check the progress every year so that they can reduce it. Instead of the goal of introducing electric vehicles, which the US & Europe were seeking, they decided to aim for decarbonization with a wide range of vehicles, including hybrid vehicles.

In addition, while not specifying the timing of phasing out coal-fired power generation, they agreed to phase out fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas if no measures are taken to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

On the other hand, in the field of the environment, regarding important minerals such as rare metals, G7 countries should take the lead in collecting used electronic devices, increase the amount of recycling on a global basis, and further marine pollution caused by plastic waste. with a new goal of reducing to zero by 2040.

To promote the spread of renewable energy, the G7 as a whole aim to increase offshore wind power generation to 150 gigawatts by 2030, which is equivalent to 150 nuclear power plants. They are planning to expand to 1 terawatt, which is equivalent to 1,000 nuclear power plants, by popularizing type panels. These goals mean offshore wind power is seven times larger, and solar power is three times larger.

Japan, as the chair country, said that it was able to show various paths to decarbonization according to the circumstances of each country, and plans to reflect this in the discussions at the G7 Hiroshima Summit next month.
METI website:
https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2023/0417_002.html

JOGMEC to collaborate with Indonesian state-owned company on CCS and hydrogen production
The Japan Energy and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) announced on April 17 that it will start discussions with Pertamina, the national oil company of Indonesia, to create businesses such as underground injection of CO2 and production of hydrogen and ammonia. In the future, they will collaborate with Japanese companies to create and promote specific businesses related to enhanced recovery of oil/gas using CO2 (CO2-EOR) and production of hydrogen and ammonia accompanied by CCS (CO2 capture and storage). 

In August 2022, the two parties, together with PT Pertamina EP, a subsidiary of Pertamina, started joint research to verify CO2-EOR and CO2 underground storage effects in declining oil and gas fields in the onshore Jatibaran oil field in West Java, Indonesia. The collaboration this time also includes a joint research agreement for the implementation of CCUS (CO2 Huff and Puff test) at the Sukowati field owned by Pertamina EP Cepu.

Indonesia is expected to have high potential for the underground storage of CO2 and the production of clean energy such as hydrogen and fuel ammonia, so several Japanese companies are currently implementing various initiatives. The Japanese government is also currently working on the "Asia Zero Emissions Community (AZEC) Initiative," in which countries work together to decarbonize Asia, and is leading the way for the "Asia Energy Transition Initiative (AETI)," which presents a package of specific support measures to ASEAN countries. 

JOGMEC website:
https://www.jogmec.go.jp/english/news/release/news_10_00032.html

WTO judges India's measures to raise tariffs on ICT products to be in breach of agreement
On April 18, the World Trade Organization (WTO) determined that India's measures to raise tariffs on ICT (Information and Communication Technology) products, which were being examined at the WTO based on Japan's petition, were inconsistent with the WTO agreement and advised India to rectify the measures.

Since 2014, India has raised tariffs to 20% on information and communication technology (ICT) products, such as mobile phones, base stations, and transmitting and receiving devices for voice and images, which are committed to duty-free (0%) under the WTO Agreement. (The tariff rate differs for each item.) On May 10, 2019, Japan requested India to consult on the measure based on the WTO Agreement, and on May 23, 2019, Japan held consultations with India.

However, since bilateral consultations did not lead to a solution, the WTO Dispute Settlement Subcommittee (Panel) was established on July 29, 2020. The EU and Taiwan have also set up panels on India's tariff measures.

Parties can appeal to the WTO Appellate Body within 60 days of publication. If there is no appeal, the WTO decision will become final based on the content of the panel report.

The products covered this time are as follows. (1) Feature phone (HS85171219), (2) Smartphone (HS85171211), (3) Mobile phone base station (HS85176100), (4) Digital microwave communication equipment (HS85176290), (5) Printed circuit board assembly (HS85177010), (6) LCD module for smartphone (HS85177090). India has raised tariffs from 0% to 15-20%.

METI website:
https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2023/0418_001.html

Closing of the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting
The G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture closed on April 18 after three days of discussions. In light of the moves of China and Russia, which are destabilizing the international order, the G7 strongly opposes attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion, and expresses the G7's determination to uphold a free and open international order based on the rule of law. issued a statement.

At the outset of the joint statement, the two countries pledged to "take action together to uphold and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law." It "condemned in the strongest possible terms" Russia's aggression against Ukraine and called for an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops and an end to third-party aid to Russia. It also made clear that G7 would continue to support Ukraine "as long as it is needed".

On China, it said, "We recognize the importance of engaging with China candidly and expressing our concerns directly." It expressed "serious concern" over the situation in the East and South China Seas, where China continues to aggressively advance into the seas, and reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. It also strongly condemned the launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea.

It also included the importance of strengthening cooperation with emerging and developing countries and a free and open Indo-Pacific. Regarding nuclear disarmament, the joint statement clearly stated, "We reaffirm our commitment (involvement) toward the ultimate goal of a world free of nuclear weapons."

The Japanese government intends to link the results of this Foreign Ministers' Meeting to the G7 Summit, which will be held in Hiroshima on May 19-21.

MOFA website:
https://www.mofa.go.jp/ecm/ec/page24e_000391.html

JGC implements “Fry to Fly” project, used cooking oil utilization project to expand SAF
On April 17, JGC Holdings announced the company launched the "Fry to Fly Project," a project to improve the environment for recovering waste cooking oil discharged from homes and restaurants, which is used as a raw material for SAF, as a resource. The company promotes the project with local governments and organizations.

SAF produced from waste cooking oil can reduce CO2 emissions by about 80% compared to conventional aviation fuel. On the other hand, most of the waste cooking oil generated at home is discarded, and it is said that more than 100,000 tons of collected waste cooking oil is exported abroad every year. In this project, they aim to realize a world where aircraft fly with SAF that uses domestic resources such as waste cooking oil generated at homes and stores as raw materials.

Concrete initiatives will be decided based on proposals from participating companies, organizations, and local governments, and activities will be carried out. There are currently 29 participating companies and organizations, and the company is still looking for new members to participate. Updates on participating organizations and future activities will be announced on the project's special website. The project was started to overcome the current situation in which, while individuals and companies themselves are increasingly motivated to actively work on decarbonization, there are limited opportunities to link such intentions to concrete activities. 

JGC HOLDINGS website (in Japanese):
https://www.jgc.com/jp/news/2023/20230417.html