The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)’s Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Long-term Roadmap Working Committee published its Final Report on the implementation of CCS in Japan in March 2023. This followed the Japanese Cabinet’s approval of the “Basic Strategy for the Realization of GX (Green Transformation)” a month earlier, which stated that legislation and a regulatory framework for CCS should be developed as soon as possible. METI began its deliberations in September 2023, resulting in the publication of its “Draft Interim Summary of the CCS Regulatory Framework” on 15 December 2023. This alert summarizes the clarified Japanese legal regime for CCS projects.

On 12 May 2023, the “Act on Promotion of a Smooth Transition to a Decarbonized Growth-Oriented Economic Structure” was passed and enacted by an ordinary session of the Diet. The Act will take effect within three months from the date of its promulgation.