Have you noticed Japan’s key resources? Or lack, thereof.
Japan is one of those unfortunate countries with high aspirations, but few resources to propel them. As a volcanic, mountainous country, Japan has little land for growing crops, and little access to essential resources.
And yet, Japan is the third largest economy in the world. They’ve been smart, and made all the right friends in all the right places, trading and making concessions where they know they must. Sadly for us, one of these concessions was coal.
This year, Japan is making room to build 22 coal fired power plants, 15 of which have already been started. If they follow through with this plan they’ll be adding around 74.7 million metric tons of CO2 emissions every year; it would make them the world’s five largest greenhouse gas producer. This is after Japan declared their commitment to cutting emissions and attempting to carbon neutral.
Sadly, Japan, like the rest of the world, is being faced with the same pressures as the rest of the world, with internal power struggles driving their government in very particular directions. Despite worries over global warming, the government is being forced to concede to the pressures of the rich at the expense of the poor.
Academic Research 