There has been an increasing effort to promote renewable energies as climate change mitigation measures in Japan. Yet, the installation of wind turbines and solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants is being contested in several parts of the country. There is a need to understand these oppositions to reduce the number of delayed projects or overcome future barriers. Thus, in this study, we investigated cases of opposition movements and legal proceedings against wind and solar PV power development. Results indicated that landscape elements and socio-ecological factors motivate local oppositions. For instance, there were cases filed due to landscape view obstruction caused by wind turbines and solar panels. In terms of socio-ecological barriers, examples of cases scrutinized showed opposition caused by the potential impact on recreational activities such as climbing and hiking trails. Additionally, we observed that there were differences in the scope and scale of opposition movements and legal proceedings between wind and solar PV power projects. These differences were related to the scale (project size) and duration (construction to operation) of the project coupled with the renewable energy-related legal system changes in Japan. We observed that the overall legislative framework is frequently designed at the national level while challenges in project site selection are dealt with at the municipal- and prefectural-level. The findings of this study can help policymakers to revise and/or develop legal systems that minimize impacts on landscape and social elements while satisfying the demand for renewable energy transitions.

Policies in Japan are shifting focus on sustainable land-use management-related policies through consensus building, given the complex options for the community and the landowners. For instance, conversion of agricultural lands to renewable energy sites, which is an example of “land-use conversion for a newly found objective”, is rapidly progressing, and actions on “managing of croplands in a minimal (low labor demand) way” has been embodied in certain policies. Currently, there are political and scientific efforts to balance environmental conservation with production activities in agriculture and forestry sectors based on science and evidence. With policies catching up, it is possible to confirm what has been moved from the planning to the implementation stage of the proposed consensus-building system by summarizing and discussing the current progress of the project. More specifically, we highlighted the trends in reusing agricultural lands under the current national-level policies and management options for croplands, such as the “less maintenance way.” We also discussed and presented the preliminary results, insights, and prospects from the ongoing project, which then led to the discussion of future considerations in sustainable land-use management in Japan.

We know not a few industries and corporations work forest management projects for global warming mitigation as one of the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Though their impacts on Japanese natural resources conservation and regional activation are huge, they are not guaranteed any sustainability and propriety of content since these approaches belong to voluntary initiative legally.Therefore, in summarizing the actual forest management projects' present circumstances and CSR itself, I suggest that any forest management projects' subjects should be encouraged keeping "public interest" "sustainability" "regionality" under the Forest and Timber Fundamental Act (Rev.2001). With recent progress in densely populated in some large cities and depopulation in remote rural areas, forest management project as CSR is getting more significant. The industries and corporations, which could operate the majority of human and material resources, can be asked for the adequate sense of ecosystem healthy and the voluntary initiative to proceed their forest management project as CSR. On that I try to propose the legislation "Forest Management Trust and Consignment Contract Act" which offers any new forest management project' subjects signed a long-tem contract with forest owners for well conservation stability and its reliability, and the establishment of public scheme "Agreement" with effectiveness and reliability for indirect forest management project support.

The legal system for renewable energy in Japan, Feed-in Tariff system, was deregulated in 2021 by the central government to reflect the international calls to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, this sudden change has raised concerns about social, environmental, and long-term economic sustainability. Thus, we conducted a state-of-the-art review of legal and policy frameworks of wind power projects in Japan and discussed the multi-layered structure at national- and municipal-level ordinances. By doing so, several gaps are highlighted. First, there are procedural gaps that business operators can de facto bypass by checking the environmental procedures. Second, there are issues at the scale (national or local), where the decisions are met. For example, while the overall framework is decided at the national level, the most contentious issues of the location of wind power facilities are left at the local level, where residents, municipalities, and developers are burdened to solve these issues. Third, in the current legal system, environmental impacts on popular natural landscapes are not taken into consideration. In the face of deregulation and concerns about multiple factors, there has been an increase in the number of municipalities opposing the construction of wind farms. Finally, existing legal cases related to wind power projects are provided to illustrate changes and disputes at different sites across Japan. These cases demonstrated how landscape elements (e.g. biodiversity) can be vital for wind power project development in Japan.

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