Japan’s rapid expansion of large-scale solar and wind power is drawing mounting resistance from local governments and residents, as disputes over endangered species, areas of outstanding natural beauty, and unauthorised land clearing widen from Hokkaido to Chiba. Regional leaders are now urging Tokyo to tighten national oversight and improve the regulatory framework for renewable energy development.
In Hokkaido, Osaka-based developer Japan Ecology plans to restart construction in early December at 12 solar sites around the ecologically sensitive Kushiro Wetlands, city officials said. Kushiro City accepted a revised construction schedule on 17 November, despite earlier calls for additional surveys on rare species, including the endangered Kita salamander.
The city had flagged insufficient ecological assessments at eight of the locations, but Japan Ecology says its surveys were appropriate and has refused to conduct further investigation. The company also aims to resume work at its Hokuto site, where it plans to install about 6,600 solar panels.
Further east in Nemuro, around 60 residents attended a 25 November briefing by Shizen Energy, which plans to build a 30-megawatt (MW) solar plant on 440,000-square-metres of pastureland. The project would be larger than a 23-MW scheme already planned in the nearby Nishihama district.
Residents questioned why the plant should be built in an area valued for its natural scenery and raised concerns about glare from the panels. In response, the company said it chose the site due to low snowfall and pledged to return part of its revenue to the community. More consultation sessions will run until 29 November.
In Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo, governor Toshihito Kumagai said on 27 November that the government was considering creating a local ordinance to strengthen oversight of megasolar developments. The move follows the discovery of unauthorised tree-felling at a planned site in Kamogawa City, which prompted officials to halt work at the end of October. Disaster-prevention work resumed this week after the prefecture reviewed the developer’s updated procedures.
Concerns over project governance have since moved onto the national stage. At a national governors’ meeting in Tokyo on 26 November, Kumagai and the governors of Akita and Mie called on the central government to improve the regulatory and financial environment for renewable energy, including offshore wind and megasolar projects.
Kumagai cited the withdrawal of a developer from an offshore wind project off Choshi, saying national rules must be reviewed so that operators can complete projects sustainably.
“We need the national government to review the system so that projects can be completed sustainably, and to move quickly on re-tendering operators,” he told the meeting.
Separately, the governors also urged the government to tighten oversight of large-scale solar developments, including the Kamogawa project that was temporarily suspended, and to accelerate re-tendering where needed.
Japan relies heavily on solar power compared with many advanced Asian economies. Solar has accounted for around 10–12 per cent of Japan’s total electricity generation since 2020, well above South Korea, which generates roughly 4–5 per cent of its power from solar. China, the region’s renewables leader, derives a similar share to Japan – about 11–13 per cent – but its overall generating capacity is far larger, with Beijing adding more solar capacity in 2023 than the rest of the world combined.
Japan is seeking to expand renewable energy to help meet its 2050 net zero goal, and megasolar installations have increased sharply over the past decade. But clashes over biodiversity, landscape protection, and risk management are becoming more common, forcing local authorities to balance environmental safeguards with national decarbonisation targets.
