Japan’s energy transition shows growth in renewables amidst continued fossil reliance

Solar share climbed to 9.8% whilst fossil fuels stay dominant.

Japan’s solar power share reached 9.8% of electricity generation in 2025, whilst fossil fuels supplied 67% of total power as clean generation rose faster than demand growth, according to an Ember report.

Fossil generation fell for a third consecutive year in 2025, declining by 4.9 terawatt-hours (TWh), whilst electricity demand rose by 13.4 TWh. Clean generation increased by 18.3 TWh and exceeded the rise in demand.

Power sector emissions peaked in 2012 and have fallen by 25% to 492 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2025, the lowest level in 15 years.

Solar generation increased by 4.4 TWh in 2025 and now accounts for 9.8% of Japan’s electricity mix, compared with 3.4% in 2015.

Wind generation rose by 1.3 TWh and provides 1.3% of total electricity, as Japan added 570 megawatts (MW) of wind capacity in 2025, following 510 MW in 2024.

Bioenergy increased by 9.0 TWh, whilst hydro generation fell by 5.6 TWh. Nuclear generation rose by 9.2 TWh and accounted for 9.1% of electricity in 2025, compared with below 2% between 2012 and 2016.

Gas generation fell by 8.5 TWh, whilst coal generation rose by 2.5 TWh. Gas accounts for 33% of the electricity mix and coal for 32%, as Japan depends heavily on imports for both fuels.

Electricity demand in Japan increased by 1.3% in 2025 after a 1.0% rise in 2024, with higher winter heating demand contributing around 10 TWh of the increase.

Japan’s clean generation reached 336 TWh in 2025, below the 2010 level of 411 TWh prior to the Fukushima nuclear incident. Over the past decade, clean generation increased by 178 TWh and displaced an equivalent volume of fossil generation.

Japan’s carbon intensity of power generation stood at 477 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilowatt-hour in 2025.

Per capita electricity demand reached 8.4 megawatt per hour (MWh), above the global average of 3.9 MWh and the Asian average of 3.8 MWh, whilst per capita emissions from the power sector reached 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.