Japan’s national public broadcasting service (NHK) is spending the day today with the AEX team here at the 135th Annual Grange Fair in Centre County, PA.  We’re pleased to have NHK with us as we continue to educate and engage Americans on the cap-and-trade energy tax plan and hear their stories on how higher energy prices would impact their families, their businesses and their way of life.

We’re looking forward to our time here with NHK and thought we’d take this opportunity to take a look at Japan’s energy consumption and how it compares to ours here in the U.S.

Japan’s Energy Consumption

Japan is the third largest oil consumer in the world behind the United States and China and is the second largest net importer of oil.

Oil is the most consumed energy resource in Japan, accounting for 49 percent of the country’s total energy consumption.

Japan has virtually no domestic oil or natural gas reserves and is the second-largest net importer of crude oil and largest net importer of liquefied natural gas in the world.  Including nuclear power, Japan is still only 16 percent energy self-sufficient.

Unlike the U.S., Japan is a small and densely populated landmass.  For this reason, they rely heavily on public transportation (because it makes sense).

Japan also has a relatively large fleet of natural gas vehicles (powered by imported LNG).

Japan relies upon foreign sources for nearly all of its energy needs, but the Japanese government is working to change that.  They have a strong energy research and development program that is supported by the government.  In fact, they are pursuing methane hydrates more aggressively than any nation in the world.

Coal continues to account for a significant share of total energy consumption, although natural gas and nuclear power are increasingly important sources

Japan is the third largest consumer of nuclear power in the world, after the United States and France. Hydroelectric power and renewable energy account for a relatively small percentage of total energy consumption in the country.

Total energy consumption from 2003 to 2030 is forecast to grow by 0.3 percent per year on average, relatively small as compared to China’s forecast growth rate of 4.2 percent per year on average, according to EIA data.

Source: Energy Information Administration; http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Japan/Background.html