Japan's hidden hydropower country taps water for carbon neutrality

May 23, 2021 | News On Japan

May 23, 2021 (Nikkei) - Japan's effort to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 has grassroots corporate support in a region where developers are unlocking potential for water and wind power.

Starting last month, the Toyama-based regional lender Hokuriku Bank has been using only electricity generated by local hydropower for its data center in central Toyama Prefecture, about 260 km northwest of Tokyo.

The bank became the first company to sign up for an electricity plan launched by regional utility Hokuriku Electric Power Co. and Toyama Prefecture. For a premium added to the electricity bill, the company will be plugged to electricity generated from hydropower plants run by the prefecture.

A total of 2,615 tons of CO2 a year is set to be reduced. For the bank, that means a 21% cut in emissions.

Home to the tallest dam in Japan, the 186-meter high Kurobe Dam, Toyama Prefecture grew into a hub for a broad range of manufacturers early on with its ample electric power supply. Among them are zipper maker YKK and Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical.

Toyama is second in the country for potential water-power resources and No. 1 in terms of hydropower already developed.

Hokuriku Electric has announced that it will boost renewable energy output 30% by the fiscal year ending March 2031 compared with fiscal 2018 levels. It plans to build more hydropower plants and upgrade existing ones.

The Hokuriku region, located in the northwestern part of Japan's main island of Honshu, is known for strong winds that blow from the Sea of Japan. In Fukui Prefecture, there are over a dozen wind-power projects currently under government assessment, including several offshore wind projects.

The total planned generating capacity of the projects adds up to 1.34 million kW, which is more power than a nuclear power plant that Kansai Electric Power Co. runs in the same prefecture.

In neighboring Ishikawa Prefecture, 12 wind farms were in operation as of last August, with nine more under review. Many of these planned projects are in the northern Noto peninsula, where winds are strong and steady. Ishikawa, known for its tourist destination of Kanazawa, has the most wind turbines of the three prefectures in Hokuriku.

Record Rain Triggers Level 5 Warning in Fukui

Record rainfall caused 19 rivers to overflow across Fukui Prefecture, flooding roads and homes, triggering landslides and temporarily forcing authorities to issue the highest-level heavy rain emergency warning from early Sunday morning.

Drones Deliver Supplies to Residents Cut Off by Landslide

Drones were used to deliver food and daily necessities to an isolated mountain community in Himi City, Toyama Prefecture, on August 30 after torrential rain triggered a landslide that cut off road access, while volunteers continued flood recovery work in neighboring Ishikawa Prefecture.

Typhoon No. 23 Overtakes No. 22 East of Japan as Both Head North

Two typhoons east of Japan were moving northward on August 30, with Typhoon No. 23 (Banlan) overtaking Typhoon No. 22 (Artau), although neither storm is expected to have a direct impact on Japan.

Nine-Minute Drone Video Shows Scale of Aeon Mall Damage

A 9-minute, 13-second drone video filmed inside Aeon Mall Kumamoto two days after the deadly explosion has provided a detailed view of the destruction, showing collapsed ceilings, heavy dust and widespread damage that may have affected between one-third and nearly half of the shopping center.

Conditions Ease as Typhoon No. 18 Passes Okinawa

Strong Typhoon No. 18 was moving northwest through the East China Sea on the night of August 26, gradually pulling away from Okinawa and the Amami Islands as lingering rain, strong winds and high waves were expected to ease. As of 9 p.m. on August 26, the typhoon was over waters north-northwest of Kume Island and moving northwest.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Three Students Swept Out to Sea in Kagoshima

Three teenage boys who went missing after being swept offshore from the coast of Ichikikushikino, Kagoshima Prefecture, on August 28 were found in the sea near the scene on August 29 and confirmed dead.

Foreign Cyclist Suffers Broken Shoulder in Shiga Hit-and-Run

A foreign man in his 30s suffered serious injuries after being struck by a car while riding a bicycle in Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture, early on August 29, with police investigating the incident as a hit-and-run.

Bread Dumping Mystery Takes a Twist

A fake video apparently created with generative AI showing a large bear eating piles of sliced bread has spread on social media following a series of illegal bread dumping incidents in Tottori Prefecture, prompting the prefectural government to warn that misinformation could cause economic harm.

Teens Arrested for Spraying Fire Extinguishers at Police Station

Three youths, including a high school student and a junior high school student, have been arrested on suspicion of obstructing police duties after allegedly stealing fire extinguishers and spraying them toward a police station in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture.

Avant-Garde Artist Yayoi Kusama Dies at 97

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese avant-garde artist whose obsessive dots, nets, pumpkins and mirrored rooms grew from intensely personal visions into some of the most recognizable images in contemporary art, died at a hospital in Tokyo on August 14, 2026, at the age of 97. Her death was announced on August 27 by companies representing the artist, which said she continued painting until her final days.

Bus Driver Crashes While Shooing Away Mosquito

A Toei bus crashed into a traffic signal in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on the morning of August 26 after the driver lost control of the steering wheel while trying to shoo away a mosquito, leaving two male passengers injured.

Don't Touch Paramedics' Shoes! Kanazawa Warns

Kanazawa's fire department is asking residents not to straighten or rearrange shoes removed by paramedics during emergency calls, warning that the well-intentioned gesture can delay the transport of patients by around 30 seconds and potentially interfere with medical care.

Luxury Watch Theft Carried Out in 10 Seconds

Two men who stole four luxury watches worth a combined 200 million yen from a store at Tokyo's Nakano Broadway may have carefully planned the 10-second theft, with one suspect renting an electric kick scooter shortly before the crime and investigators examining whether the other man's escape on foot was intended as a decoy.

< 2 3 4 5 >