Weaker economy hits Japan’s 2022-23 energy consumption

Spanish Market: Coal, Crude oil, Electricity, Natural gas
30/11/23

Japan's final energy consumption in the April 2022-March 2023 fiscal year fell again from a year earlier, pressured by weaker economic activity.

The country's 2022-23 final energy use totalled around 307mn kilolitres, or 1.93bn of oil equivalent (boe), down by 2.9pc from a year earlier, according to a preliminary data released on 29 November by the trade and industry ministry (Meti). The drop follows 1.4pc growth the previous year after three consecutive years of falls.

Coal consumption in 2022-23 fell by 8.5pc from a year earlier to 183mn boe, while oil use dropped by 2.5pc to 900mn boe. Demand for natural gas and city gas dropped by 2.5pc to 173mn boe. Power demand also fell by 1.8pc to 530mn boe.

Demand from the industry and commercial sectors fell by 6.1pc from a year earlier to around 1.2bn boe because of inflation and the deterioration of overseas economies, Meti said. But demand from the transportation sector rose for a second year in a row, up by 4pc to 455mn boe, supported by a continued recovery from Covid-19 restrictions. Demand from the country's household sector also edged up by 0.5pc to 292mn boe.

Japan's primary domestic energy supplies in 2022-23 fell by 2.3pc from the previous year to 2.97bn boe, of which fossil fuels accounted for 83.5pc that was up by 0.3 percentage points. But renewable supplies, including hydroelectric power, marked the 10th consecutive year of increases.

Japan's energy-derived carbon dioxide emissions in 2022-23 fell by 2.9pc from a year earlier to 958mn t, supported by increased renewable and nuclear power supplies. The 2022-23 emissions represented a 22.5pc fall compared with 2013-14 or the lowest level since 1990-91.

The increase in energy consumption helped cut Japan's energy self-sufficiency rate to 12.6pc in 2022-23, down by 0.7 percentage points from a year earlier, based on IEA data. The country's equity oil and gas output, or the portion of the country's import demand that is covered by Japanese energy firms' direct stakes in upstream projects, also fell by 6.7 percentage points to 33.4pc.

By Motoko Hasegawa

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