![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/japantimes\/uploads\/images\/2026\/08\/30\/559799.jpg\" "\\"An")
<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n An LNG tanker is moored at a thermal power station in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture. Energy poverty has been rising in Japan since the 2000s, spurred by the March 2011 triple disaster, the Russia-Ukraine war and the weak yen.
\n | REUTERS\n <\/p>\n
Energy poverty has been rising in Japan since the 2000s, spurred by the March 2011 triple disaster, the Russia-Ukraine war and the weak yen, according to research by University of Tsukuba professor Shinichiro Okushima. Based on his methodology, roughly 10% of households in Japan are in a state of energy poverty.<\/p>\n
Currently, energy poverty is not named in Japan\u2019s national policies, a step experts say would help raise awareness and galvanize action.<\/p>\n
Existing measures \u2014 from welfare fuel allowances to energy-efficiency targets \u2014 indirectly address the issue to a certain extent. However, experts and advocates are calling for both improvements to existing systems and further measures to fully tackle energy poverty in Japan.<\/p>\n
The vulnerable<\/p>\n
Researchers and advocates have identified various trends in energy-vulnerable groups.<\/p>\n
One such cohort is older adults living alone, a group that is expected to account for over 20% of households by 2050, up from 13.2% in 2020, according to a paper published earlier this year by Okushima and colleagues. Older adults\u00a0tend to have lower income but spend more time at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince rural areas have increasingly aging populations and a larger proportion of people living alone in older homes, we could see energy poverty rise especially in the countryside,\u201d Okushima says.<\/p>\n
Those living in rural areas tend to depend on cars for transportation and often don\u2019t have access to the cheaper city gas networks, which adds to their energy expenses, according to Okushima\u2019s research.<\/p>\n
Immigrants are another group potentially at risk, according to members of Food Bank Sendai, which was established in 2020 to serve those out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic but which has expanded its scope since. About half of the food bank\u2019s roughly 10,000 beneficiaries in 2025 were foreign nationals, primarily students from Asian nations attending Japanese school or a vocational school while working part-time jobs, says Shinsei Mori, the food bank\u2019s director.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith soaring prices and relatively low wages, many international students are struggling to make ends meet,\u201d Mori says.<\/p>\n
Kasahara adds that immigrants may face a language barrier if they fall behind on utility payments and need to find a solution. Even for those fluent in Japanese, the steps before a utility shuts off power due to late payments, and accessing avenues for recourse, can be opaque, she says.<\/p>\n
Another key consideration when it comes to energy poverty in Japan is the lack of insulation in residential buildings, especially older ones, Koga notes. Low-income households often have no choice but to live in poorly insulated homes with inefficient heating and cooling systems, meaning they have to use even more energy if they hope to make the space comfortable.<\/p>\n
Justice and rights<\/p>\n
Climate change is making Japan\u2019s summers hotter, raising cooling costs apace. However, Okushima highlights that it is also critical to ensure that climate change countermeasures, especially the transition to clean energy, do not inadvertently exacerbate energy poverty, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf measures such as carbon pricing or renewable energy surcharges passed on to all ratepayers equally, regardless of economic status, place a heavier burden on low-income households, then their energy security could deteriorate,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
One example of such a policy is Japan\u2019s Feed-in-Tariff (FIT; a Feed-in-Premium system was also introduced in 2022), a renewable energy promotion framework in which renewable energy is purchased by utilities at a fixed price, with the surcharge borne by ratepayers. For fiscal year 2026, the economy ministry, which sets Japan\u2019s energy policies, calculated that a household consuming 400 kWh of electricity per month would pay an annual \u00a520,064 in FIT\/FIP surcharges.<\/p>\n