Japan has reached a major milestone with its pursuit of clean energy. For the first time, fossil fuels generated a record-low share of the country's utility-scale electricity supplies, accounting for less than 60% of electricity use in the first half of 2025, according to Reuters.
The clean electricity use from January to June totaled 188 terawatt-hours, which is 47% more than it did over the same months in 2019. This usage marks the highest output of clean energy supply for Japan in over a decade.
During those six months, natural gas output hit a low that Japan has not touched since at least 2019. The rise in costs was a factor in the switch; however, coal-fired electricity was down 9%, and gas-fired electricity was down 25%.
Fossil fuels are considered dirty energy sources, which contribute to the overheating of the planet and make extreme weather events more frequent and severe. When fossil fuels enter the atmosphere, they trap heat from the sun, creating a greenhouse effect that causes global temperatures to increase and alters weather patterns.
Dirty energy also harms humans directly from the point of extraction to the point of use. Those who work in these industries suffer from lung cancer, asthma, and more as a result of prolonged exposure. Everyday citizens are also more likely to be affected medically the longer they are exposed to items such as gas-burning stoves and cars.
Japan, which owns the fourth-largest economy in the world, is a top consumer and importer of fossil fuels, including coal, crude oil, and natural gas. However, leaders in the clean electricity sector have been promoting the growth of clean energy sources, including nuclear energy and solar farms, which is outpacing the expected growth and need for fossil fuels in the 2020s.
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Japan has shared its ambitions to reduce heat-trapping gas pollution by 46% by 2030. With its plans to close dirty energy power plants and assuming clean energy adoption continues at the same rate, Japan is expected to surpass its fossil fuel use with renewables by 2033.
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