State of the Art Review on Land-Use Policy: Changes in Forests, Agricultural Lands and Renewable Energy of Japan

Abstract

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.

Analysis of Agricultural Land Conversion in Taman Sub-District, Sidoarjo Regency

“…The agricultural land will be used to meet these needs. This is in line with research conducted by Kohsaka (2022) according to the increasing industry in Japan requires large areas of land to improve the energy manufacturing industry. Likewise, research conducted by Agus Mubarokah and Ernawati Hendrakusumah (2022), according to him, the number of industries has a positive and significant effect on agricultural land conversion.…”

Contested renewable energy sites due to landscape and socio-ecological barriers: Comparison of wind and solar power installation cases in Japan

“…This includes, for instance, checking the designated wind turbine installation sites in the "Scooping documents" and the agreement of landowners ("consensus of the regional community") and carefully determining the timing of issuing the license. 81 Secondly, there is a shift in the legal stand from the initial coalition of operators and municipalities versus the residents to operators versus the coalition of municipalities and residents. The change in the legal stand of the municipalities is triggered by the increasing concerns of negative impacts such as noise pollution, degradation of the environment, and disasters (e.g.…”

Can urbanization move ahead with energy conservation and emission reduction? New evidence from China

“…122,123 In the second case, regional consents were reached based on rational discussions further leading to registration at the so-called "Promotion Areas" (or Suishin-kuiki) for renewable energy projects. 124 As of December 2021, 7% of the municipalities had remained "under consideration" for the designation of "Promotion Areas" in the Renewable Energy Project. 125 An example of this is the Choshi City coast in Chiba Prefecture, which is currently designated as the single promotion area in the Kanto region (close to Tokyo).…”