5 ms·

Good. As an oil importing country, their fuel consumption will keep going lower

by nine_zeros 4y ago

sofixa 4y ago
I really doubt many people in Japan commute by car.
- bin_bash 4y ago
  They’re one of the biggest importers of natural gas. Something has to run the Shinkansen.
  - srvmshr 4y ago
    Shinkansens run on electricity. Oil is mostly in the manufacturing and plastics industry, unlike other countries where domestic consumption is a significant share. (Tokyo power sector is mostly thermal and nuclear.)
    - bin_bash 4y ago
      They hardly produce any nuclear anymore. Natural gas is the largest source by far. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Japan EDIT: these numbers appear to be old, since 2019 they’ve tuned reactors back on and stopped relying on LNG as much. I can’t find good numbers on recent data but in 2019 they imported more gas than any other country.
      - srvmshr 4y ago
        Fossil-fueled thermal power generation accounted for 71.7% of total electricity generated during the year [2021], down from 74.9% the previous year [2020]. Coal and LNG accounted for 26.5% and 31.7%, respectively, and both fossil fuels are on a declining trend. Nuclear power accounted for 5.9%, up from 4.3% the previous year. Source: https://www.isep.or.jp/en/1243/ https://www.isep.or.jp/en/1243/ Reference #4
      - ajmurmann 4y ago
        I wonder why geothermal isn't big there. I'd naively assume that they could get a significant portion to their electricity from geothermal. Does anyone know what's preventing Japan from doing that?
        liketochill 4y ago
        Without knowing how good a geothermal resource they have, I imagine it is similar to what prevents it from being popular where I live where there is a fantastic geothermal resource: Economics, know how, FUD
  - jpgvm 4y ago
    Shinkansen is electric. Japan total energy mix is about 20% LNG or so.
    - bin_bash 4y ago
      Try over 40%: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Japan
      - jpgvm 4y ago
        Huh, it is higher now. Not quite 40% though, coal and LNG accounted for 26.5% and 31.7% in 2021: https://www.isep.or.jp/en/1243/ https://www.isep.or.jp/en/1243/ Renewables are aggressively scaling up and nuclear looks like it's rebounding some.
        bin_bash 4y ago
        Ah yeah you’re right. A lot has changed since 2019.
- chrischen 4y ago
  It might have a minor impact on trains, which could be powered by oil based power plants. Reality is a lot f global electricity is still oil powered.
- grapeskin 4y ago
  Japan has one of the highest rates of car ownership in the world. It’s pretty common outside of Tokyo/Osaka/Nagoya.
- csa 4y ago
  > I really doubt many people in Japan commute by car. Having lived in Japan and commuted by car in Japan, I can say that this is definitely not true. In the inner parts of the larger cities, yes, very true. But in the periphery of larger cities and in every provincial city (which are most of them), there is a lot of car commuting. For reference, I would say larger cities are Tokyo, Osaka, and Yokohama. Nagoya is probably around the threshold (not so sure, didn’t spend much time there). Provincial cities like Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Sendai, and Sapporo are very much car-centric, although the public transportation system is quite robust. Most of the public transport in these cities is to and from the inner city and for short jaunts between neighborhoods by folks who don’t drive. For jobs outside of the center city, driving a car would be quite common. The outskirts of Tokyo, etc. are similar to these provincial cities. Smaller cities like Nagasaki or Shizuoka are even more car-centric.
- seanmcdirmid 4y ago
  My old roommate in Gifu commutes to her school job by car. Car use is very common in many of the not so big cities.
- spike021 4y ago
  Have you been to Japan? It often seems like people who have never been only have this ideal in their minds that everyone in Japan travels by bullet train or local commuter trains. There are many bus routes, and many people who still own and drive their own cars even in larger cities like Tokyo or Osaka.

Good. As an oil importing country, their fuel consumption will keep going lower

sofixa 4y ago

I really doubt many people in Japan commute by car.

bin_bash 4y ago
They’re one of the biggest importers of natural gas. Something has to run the Shinkansen.
- srvmshr 4y ago
  Shinkansens run on electricity. Oil is mostly in the manufacturing and plastics industry, unlike other countries where domestic consumption is a significant share. (Tokyo power sector is mostly thermal and nuclear.)
  - bin_bash 4y ago
    They hardly produce any nuclear anymore. Natural gas is the largest source by far. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Japan EDIT: these numbers appear to be old, since 2019 they’ve tuned reactors back on and stopped relying on LNG as much. I can’t find good numbers on recent data but in 2019 they imported more gas than any other country.
    - srvmshr 4y ago
      Fossil-fueled thermal power generation accounted for 71.7% of total electricity generated during the year [2021], down from 74.9% the previous year [2020]. Coal and LNG accounted for 26.5% and 31.7%, respectively, and both fossil fuels are on a declining trend. Nuclear power accounted for 5.9%, up from 4.3% the previous year. Source: https://www.isep.or.jp/en/1243/ https://www.isep.or.jp/en/1243/ Reference #4
    - ajmurmann 4y ago
      I wonder why geothermal isn't big there. I'd naively assume that they could get a significant portion to their electricity from geothermal. Does anyone know what's preventing Japan from doing that?
      - liketochill 4y ago
        Without knowing how good a geothermal resource they have, I imagine it is similar to what prevents it from being popular where I live where there is a fantastic geothermal resource: Economics, know how, FUD
- jpgvm 4y ago
  Shinkansen is electric. Japan total energy mix is about 20% LNG or so.
  - bin_bash 4y ago
    Try over 40%: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Japan
    - jpgvm 4y ago
      Huh, it is higher now. Not quite 40% though, coal and LNG accounted for 26.5% and 31.7% in 2021: https://www.isep.or.jp/en/1243/ https://www.isep.or.jp/en/1243/ Renewables are aggressively scaling up and nuclear looks like it's rebounding some.
      - bin_bash 4y ago
        Ah yeah you’re right. A lot has changed since 2019.
chrischen 4y ago
It might have a minor impact on trains, which could be powered by oil based power plants. Reality is a lot f global electricity is still oil powered.
grapeskin 4y ago
Japan has one of the highest rates of car ownership in the world. It’s pretty common outside of Tokyo/Osaka/Nagoya.
csa 4y ago
> I really doubt many people in Japan commute by car. Having lived in Japan and commuted by car in Japan, I can say that this is definitely not true. In the inner parts of the larger cities, yes, very true. But in the periphery of larger cities and in every provincial city (which are most of them), there is a lot of car commuting. For reference, I would say larger cities are Tokyo, Osaka, and Yokohama. Nagoya is probably around the threshold (not so sure, didn’t spend much time there). Provincial cities like Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Sendai, and Sapporo are very much car-centric, although the public transportation system is quite robust. Most of the public transport in these cities is to and from the inner city and for short jaunts between neighborhoods by folks who don’t drive. For jobs outside of the center city, driving a car would be quite common. The outskirts of Tokyo, etc. are similar to these provincial cities. Smaller cities like Nagasaki or Shizuoka are even more car-centric.
seanmcdirmid 4y ago
My old roommate in Gifu commutes to her school job by car. Car use is very common in many of the not so big cities.
spike021 4y ago
Have you been to Japan? It often seems like people who have never been only have this ideal in their minds that everyone in Japan travels by bullet train or local commuter trains. There are many bus routes, and many people who still own and drive their own cars even in larger cities like Tokyo or Osaka.