Japan, alongside fellow developed countries, has constantly been called upon to address global warming and climate change since the 1980s, when these issues first began to prompt discussion on an international level. Yet unlike the European countries, Japan’s approach to tackling these issues has not been entirely proactive. In October 2020, however, following then-Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s declaration of the government goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Japan took a significant change of course toward decarbonization and rapidly launched efforts to that end. This article explains the stance that has thus far been adopted in Japan toward climate change, as well as the ways of thinking behind it, and suggests what factors may have prompted the change of course in 2020. It also offers insights on potential future developments.
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