Across greater Tokyo, the world's largest metropolis
http://www.guardian.co.uk/japan/story/0,,1711848,00.html
Turn off the heat - how Japan made energy saving an art form
A nation with few fossil fuels is finding a pioneering way to secure its future
Anthony Faiola in Kamiita Friday February 17, 2006 The Guardian
When the Japanese government issued a national battle cry against soaring global energy prices this winter, no one heeded the call more than Kamiita, a farming town in the misty mountains of western Japan. To save energy, officials shut off the heating system in the town hall, leaving themselves and 100 workers no respite from near-freezing temperatures. On a recent frosty morning, rows of desks were full of employees bundled in coats and blankets, nursing flasks of hot tea. To cut petrol use, officials say, most of the town's 13,000 citizens are strictly obeying a nationwide call to turn off car engines while idling, particularly at traffic lights.
Turn off the heat - how Japan made energy saving an art form
A nation with few fossil fuels is finding a pioneering way to secure its future
Anthony Faiola in Kamiita Friday February 17, 2006 The Guardian
When the Japanese government issued a national battle cry against soaring global energy prices this winter, no one heeded the call more than Kamiita, a farming town in the misty mountains of western Japan. To save energy, officials shut off the heating system in the town hall, leaving themselves and 100 workers no respite from near-freezing temperatures. On a recent frosty morning, rows of desks were full of employees bundled in coats and blankets, nursing flasks of hot tea. To cut petrol use, officials say, most of the town's 13,000 citizens are strictly obeying a nationwide call to turn off car engines while idling, particularly at traffic lights.
Article continues
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan, the world's second-largest economy, has no domestic sources of fossil fuel and, facing rising oil prices, has turned energy efficiency into an art form. Japan's oil consumption has remained steady since 1975, while world consumption has risen steadily. It has dramatically diversified its power sources over the years, becoming far less dependent on oil and cultivating a culture of conservation. Kamiita's decision to turn off the heat, which brought it national media attention, came after a nationwide "warm biz" campaign led thousands of businesses and government offices to set their thermostats no higher than 20C (68F) this winter while encouraging employees to wear warm clothes at work. If it sounds like a gimmick, consider the figures from the "cool biz" campaign launched by the prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, last summer. Companies including Toyota, Hitachi, Isuzu and Sharp asked everyone, from the chief executive down, to strip off their much-loved ties and jackets as office air conditioners were set no cooler than 28C (82.4F). In metropolitan Tokyo alone, the campaign saved 70m kilowatts of power between June and August - enough to power a city of a quarter of a million people for one month, according to Tokyo Electric Power Company.
Vehicles with low emissions account for almost 11m, or 21%, of cars on Japan's roads. Across greater Tokyo, the world's largest metropolis, "intelligent machines", from subway ticket machines to building escalators, automatically switch off when not in use.
The government has set strict new energy-saving targets for 18 types of consumer and business electronics. Home and office air conditioners, for instance, must be redesigned to use 63% less power by 2008. The targets have sparked a gold rush among electronics makers, who are churning out record numbers of energy-saving - but more expensive - consumer products.
Canon's $225 (130) Pixus MP500 printer, which uses 60% less electricity than the company's other models, has become the number-one seller in Japan despite cheaper options on the market. Matsushita, maker of the Panasonic and National brands, is selling a $600 energy-efficient ceiling lamp that tells users "You are saving 10% on electricity" each time it is switched on. Last year, the company entered the housing business and is now building suburban "eco-homes" equipped with energy-saving gadgets and solar panels that can cut the average power bill of about 105 a month by 65% .
Kyoto protocol
It can take years for savings on energy bills to offset initial investment in some products. Thus, experts say, Japan's boom is not likely to spread abroad until product prices come down. But with opinion polls showing that more than three-quarters of Japanese people view energy conservation as a personal responsibility, many are willing to pay.
That has helped make Japan's energy consumption per person almost half that of the US. Conservation fever swept the nation after the Kyoto protocol, the 1997 treaty written in Japan that aims to reduce greenhouse gases. The US has not ratified the treaty. But experts say Japan's transformation dates from before Kyoto - and is rooted more in economics than environmentalism.
After the 1970s oil crisis, Japan "went into a panic. We have no oil of our own, and are completely dependent on imports," said Takako Nakamura, an official at the global environment bureau of the environment ministry. "That weakness changed the way we looked at energy."
The country embarked on a major effort to wean itself off oil. Japan imports 16% less oil than it did in 1973, although the economy has more than doubled. Billions of dollars were invested in converting oil-reliant electricity-generation systems into those powered by natural gas, coal, nuclear energy or alternative fuels. For instance, Japan now accounts for 48% of the world's solar power generation.
At the same time, Japanese industries have dramatically reduced oil consumption. Nippon Steel, the country's largest steelmaker, has cut its dependency on oil by 85% since 1974; oil now accounts for 10% of fuel used to heat its factory furnaces.
Oil was replaced in part by coal, a cheaper and more abundant fossil fuel. Yet critics say reliance on coal or natural gas remains a temporary solution, particularly as prices have risen along with those for oil.
Alternative energy
So Japanese companies are focusing increasingly on efficiency and alternative energy. Five of Nippon Steel's 10 factories are burning used tyres and recyclable plastics such as discarded shopping bags and bottles as well as coal. Spurred by the Kyoto protocol, Japan's steel industry has made significant upgrades at its plants. Factories can produce one tonne of steel using 20% less fuel than American steelmakers - and 50% less than those in China, according to the Japan Steel Association.
Some industries have done even better. The paper industry is using waste-based or alternative energies for 38% of its power.
"We recognise that there is an important environmental issue at stake, but economically it has also worked out for us," said Hiroshi Nakashima, a manager at Nippon Steel. "Improved energy efficiency means we need to buy less fuel, and that saves money. Otherwise, we never would have done it."
But energy conservation can have its drawbacks. Back in the cold town hall in Kamiita more workers are coming to the office wearing masks and taking preventive medicines to ward off colds.
The vast majority of the town's workers had agreed in a survey that the heat should be switched off to save on energy.
"I think we're doing the right thing," said Masaki Iuchi, 34, a dog catcher. "But it's not always comfortable."
Additional reporting by Akiko Yamamoto and Robert Thomason, Washington Post