Possibilities and Impossibilities of Decentralized Energy Governance and Local Climate Change Mitigation Policies in Japan

From the perspectives of political science and policy process analyses, this study examines the determinants of the possibilities and impossibilities of the Japanese local governments' progressive low carbon measures. Although many advocates claim a priori that such measures taken by the local governments are' desirable,' very few studies have actually analyzed the factors leading to this conclusion. Is it reasonable to expect the local governments to assume the role of making and implementing climate change policies? And, if so, are the policies and measures effective? To answer these a posteriori types of enquiries, this study employs a qualitative analysis of cross-cutting findings obtained from in-depth case studies of eight local governments(Tokyo, Iwate, Nagano, Hachinohe, Kuzumaki, Tsukuba, Tokoname). In each of these local governments, the promotion of a series of low carbon measures served not only to improve the environment, but also to create a new social economy at the local level. In other words, in around 2000, these local governments had already sought to realize the basic proposition of the "Green New Deal" policies that the Japanese national government began to stress in late 2008. Thus, whether the aims of various actors and their proposed schemes lead to the formation and implementation of more concrete, effective measures in each of these local governments, poses a critical test for the above-mentioned governability issues. The study first describes the ways in which the policy processes promote and/or prevent the agendization and institutionalization of their policies and measures. The study then analyzes and explains why, except for the case in Tokyo, the intended policy performances were not achieved in a sustainable manner, despite the fact that various administrative plans and even ordinances on the climate change problems were formally established in other local governments. Based upon the findings, the study draws policy implications from the perspectives of local governance capabilities, suggesting that fundamental structural reforms are needed if the local governments are to play more pivotal roles in addressing the climate change mitigation issues.