Prevalence of energy poverty in Japan: A comprehensive analysis of energy poverty vulnerabilities

Regional energy poverty reevaluated: A direct measurement approach applied to France and Japan

“…In addition, Table 13 demonstrates that biomass energy (wood) is also important in France. Although there is no comprehensive data on biomass use in Japan, households" biomass energy use is not popular in Japan, except in specific mountainous areas (Castaño-Rosa and Okushima, 2021). Table 14 shows the Japanese results, with the important role of kerosene in the northern part of Japan (Zones 1 and 2) also highlighted by this poverty reduction effect analysis.…”

“…From a regional perspective, the northern and southern parts of Japan, i.e., Zones 1 and 4, experience higher rates. This trend is mainly attributed to lower income levels and various disadvantages in terms of energy vulnerability (e.g., off-gas grid) existing in these regions (Castaño-Rosa and Okushima, 2021). Notably, since the new measure reflects the differences in energy needs between regions, it does not necessarily yield higher energy poverty rates in colder regions.…”

“…However, the regional difference is much larger than that in France, with the contribution of electricity exceeding 70% in Zone 4 (with a subtropical climate). It is noteworthy that the contribution of city gas (LNG) in Zone 3 is high, suggesting that in Zone 3, which is representative of Japan's typical climate, the presence or absence of LNG access (on-or off-gas grid) plays a significant role in the fulfillment of domestic energy services (Chapman and Okushima, 2019;Castaño-Rosa and Okushima, 2021). 13 table shows the inequality of energy use for domestic energy services measured by the Gini coefficient.…”

“…In addition, Japan has a higher population density as the area of habitable plains is relatively less, but both countries are characterized by population concentration in certain areas, i.e., in the greater Paris area in France and in the three major metropolitan areas (Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya) in Japan. Population density has a major impact on the regional prevalence of energy poverty because the energy types and infrastructure that people can use are closely related to the urbanization level of their living places Robinson et al, 2018a;Castaño-Rosa and Okushima, 2021). The following subsections provide a detailed explanation on energy poverty in France and Japan.…”

“…Unlike in European countries such as France, energy poverty is not yet on the policy agenda in Japan; there are no official statistics or policy measures, particularly for tackling the energy poverty phenomenon (Chapman and Okushima, 2019;Castaño-Rosa and Okushima, 2021). Energy poverty figures have been estimated only in academic studies, including Okushima (2016Okushima ( , 2017.…”