Dear colleagues,

We are inviting you to attend the webinar Climate Change Laggard? Understanding the Politic, Economic, and Technology Behind Japan's Energy Transition.

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Date and time: February 10th 2022, 18:00 (JST)

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Registration link: https://forms.gle/u5FVPV5LBjjE4Ku38

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Japan is a resource-poor country and the fifth-largest energy consumer. Past Japan self-branding as 'Green Japan' and 'Normative Entrepreneur' in the climate change realm, the reality is that it faces long-term energy security challenges. Japan depends on energy imports, fossil fuels dominate its energy mix, nuclear power has had a controversial status since 3/11, and it has to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet international obligations. It faces complexities in formulating, institutionalizing, and implementing energy transition policy at political, business, industrial, and technological levels. How can we explain Japan's slow-motion in effectively implementing the energy transition process? Where does Japan stand in
relation to its European counterparts? What are the realities of renewable energy businesses in the Japanese market, and what hurdles do they face? What are the technological challenges that we are not bringing into the discussion? Our guest
speakers bring an academic and pragmatic perspective on these questions and are open to addressing your questions.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Hiroshi Ohta is a professor at the School of International Liberal Studies (SILS), Waseda University. He received a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Department of Political Science of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Columbia University. Professor Ohta is the Lead Faculty in the Earth System Governance research alliance and Councilor of the Japan Association of International Relations (JAIR). He is the author of "The Analysis of Japan's Energy and Climate Policy from the Aspect of Anticipatory Governance," Energies 13 (19), 2020: 1-22; "EU and Japanese climate and energy security" with Katja Biedenkopf, in Emil Kirchner and Han Dorussen eds., EU-Japan Security Cooperation: Trends and Prospects (London and New York: Routledge, 2019); and Comparative Politics about the Environmental and Energy Policies of Major States: Make a Choice for A Sustainable Society (in Japanese), Tokyo: Toshindo 2016.

Mauro Simao is a technical advisor at Vector Renewables, Inc. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Bridge Engineering) from the Department of Civil Engineering of the Graduate School of Engineering of Kobe University, where he also held position of a post-doctoral research fellow. He worked as a bridge designer at Oriental Consultants (Oriconsul) and renewable energy projects designer (solar, hydro) at GPSS Holdings.

Aleksandra Babović is an assistant professor at Osaka University, Graduate School of Human Sciences (HUS), where she teaches international law and organizations, East Asian international relations, Japanese law, and diplomacy. She earned her Ph. D. from the Department of Political Sciences of the Graduate School of Law of Kobe University. She holds an M.A. in International Public Management at Paris School of International Affairs (Sciences Po, PSIA). She is an Affiliated Scholar at Research Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs (RIIPA). Her research interests include Japan's foreign policy and security. Current research projects deal with Japan's migration policies and energy transition. She is the author of The Tokyo Trial, Justice, and the Postwar International Order (2019).