Civil Society to Takaichi: Stop Using the Hormuz Energy Crisis to Increase Asia’s Fossil Fuel Dependency

30 civil society organizations released a statement today urging Japan to stop exploiting the global energy crisis triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran to push its fossil fuel agenda across Asia Pacific. The statement was released as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi prepares to visit Vietnam and Australia from May 1-5. 

“Under Prime Minister Takaichi, Japan is leading the Asia-Pacific down a dangerous path of fossil fuel expansion and militarisation. We must reject this vision for the Asia-Pacific and beyond: no more weapons, no more fossils,” the groups said.

Groups are calling out Takaichi’s regional tour as a fossil fuels sales trip to advance its “Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience Asia (POWERR Asia)” which will undermine energy security.” POWERR Asia is a USD 10 billion Japan-led initiative that commits to securing up to 1.2 billion barrels of crude oil annually for the region, as well as LNG, biofuels, and nuclear energy. 

Takaichi announced the POWERR Asia initiative at the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Plus leaders meeting she held online last month. Japan has been using AZEC as a platform to promote fossil fuel technologies under the guise of decarbonization. It includes most of the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as Australia. Despite its name, more than 30% of partnerships forged under AZEC are fossil fuel-related. With the announcement of POWERR Asia, Japan intends to move AZEC further away from its original intention to decarbonize the region and to focus on securing more fossil fuels.

The organizations are calling on Takaichi and the Japanese government to “end support for unreliable, expensive fossil fuels…that will only exacerbate the region’s reliance on risky fossil fuels.” They are also demanding that Japan end public financing for fossil fuels and fossil fuel-based technologies, redirect funds as grants toward community-based renewables and energy efficiency, and exert diplomatic pressure to end the war in Iran.

Civil society groups say Takaichi’s trip is not a diplomatic mission but a coordinated fossil fuel and arms lobbying offensive. This month alone, the Takaichi administration lifted further restrictions on weapons exports and agreed to sell 11 warships to Australia – the largest postwar Japanese defense deal – awarded to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, one of the world’s largest gas turbine producers. 

“This is not a show of sincere support toward neighboring countries during an energy crisis,” the groups said. “It is another example of Japan using diplomatic and financial force to suppress the region’s transition to reliable, self-sufficient, affordable renewable energy.”

While Takaichi visits Vietnam and Australia, former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to visit the Philippines as Special Envoy of the Prime Minister and Supreme Advisor to the Parliamentary Association of AZEC. Kishida initiated the AZEC platform during his term as Prime Minister and has been promoting the initiative throughout Southeast Asia.

Quotes: 

• Dr Suhailah Ali, Director of Climate Justice, Jubilee Australia Research Centre:
  Prime Minister Takaichi is visiting Australia on the 50-year anniversary of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Australia and Japan. This Treaty recognises that the two countries should not only work together for their own mutual benefit but also for their common interest in the prosperity and welfare of other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. It is now more evident than ever that fossil fuel extraction and dependence are devastating our region; from the current energy crisis to the profound impacts of climate change, which has been deemed the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security, and wellbeing of Pacific peoples. Increased military activity is exacerbating the climate crisis and yet the Australian government is spending $20 billion on warships from Japan; money that could be spent on the basics people need to prosper – education, healthcare, housing, and access to reliable and affordable renewable energy. Prime Minister Albanese claims that the cooperation between Australia and Japan is essential to maintaining peace and stability in our region – how will this be achieved through fossil fuel expansion and militarisation?
• Erin Ryan, Senior International Campaigner, Climate Action Network Australia: “Governments around the world are meeting to chart a way out of a fossil fuels crisis, but Japan is grabbing the wheel and steering Asia down a dangerous road. This obscene volume of funds being poured into AZEC aims to lock countries and communities into volatile, polluting coal and gas. The main game is clear: Japan wants to keep building new markets for gas that they buy and dropship from countries like Australia, for huge profit. Our communities have been sold out for too long. It’s time for our Prime Ministers to meet the moment and cooperate on the rollout of cleaner, cheaper and more stable renewables.”
• Lidy Nacpil, Coordinator of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development: “Asia’s current energy crisis is more proof that fossil fuel dependence leaves us vulnerable to shocks and endangers our peoples’ rights. Japan’s POWERR Asia initiative will only further entrench our region in fossil fuels at a time when a just and equitable energy transition is most urgent. As Takaichi and Kishida tour the Asia-Pacific region to promote fossil fuel interests, we call on Asian governments to reject this initiative, end our reliance on dirty energy, and redirect public, grant-based finance to community-based renewables now.”
• Gerry Arances, Executive Director of the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development: “The current energy crisis exposes the high cost of the Philippines’ reliance on LNG, a path promoted and financed by Japanese institutions like the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). With global LNG prices spiking by 91%, these Japanese-funded terminals are now passing extreme volatility directly onto Filipino households, driving the soaring electricity charges that are hitting consumers hard. Set against a backdrop of systemic corruption issues in the Philippines, these costs are even more devastating to the people. With AZEC 2.0, Japan still continues to extend the life of fossil fuels rather than supporting the genuine shift to renewables that both our climate and our economy urgently require.”
• Hozue Hatae, Campaigner for Friends of the Earth Japan: “AZEC has long been criticized by civil society overseas for imposing ‘false solutions’ that prioritize corporate interests without meaningful participation from communities and civil society. The current POWERR Asia and AZEC 2.0 frameworks risk entrenching energy inequality in Asia while boosting the profits of large corporations, including the fossil fuel industry, and are wholly unacceptable. At a time when the current energy crisis has exposed the risks of fossil fuel dependence, the Japanese government’s response is deeply shameful. What is needed instead is grant-based support for a rapid, just, and equitable energy transition based on local needs, along with the fulfillment of responsibilities to the Global South and future generations.”
• Satoko Endo, Policy Coordinator, Mekong Watch: “The climate crisis is worsening at this very moment. This is very serious. The Japanese government should not continue making proposals that encourage countries to increase reliance on fossil fuels. It should make proposals that enable countries to cooperate in a quick shift to solar and wind power. If it fails to do so, then the AZEC 2.0 is not an upgrade but rather a downgrade from the former.”

Notes to the editor: 

• Japan’s POWERR Asia announcement coincides with the First Conference to Transition away from Fossil Fuels convening in Santa Marta, Colombia. More than 50 countries met to implement a rapid, just, equitable energy transition. In an action at Santa Marta, civil society groups called out Japan for derailing Asia’s energy transition by pushing for more LNG and false solutions like CCS, burning ammonia and hydrogen with fossil fuels, and biofuels. 
• In addition to the statement, civil society organizations in Australia and the Philippines are organizing protests to urge Takaichi to stop promoting fossil fuels and militarization and to support lasting energy security.
  • Action in Manila, Philippines (30 April, 8:30AM – 9:30AM, Japanese Embassy) 
  • Action in Sydney, Australia (4 May, 10:00AM, Sydney CBD)
  • Action in Canberra, Australia (4 May, 10:00AM, outside Parliament House
• Photos from the actions can be found here.