JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Yutaro Fujimoto, Yurika Masakane, Hirokazu Tanaka and Yutaro Kato, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu
In order to expropriate land, the operator must first obtain approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastruc- ture, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and/or the relevant local government, as the case may be, on any under- taking that necessitates expropriation. After obtaining such approval, the operator files for expropriation with the Expropriation Committee of the MLIT, which will grant the operator an award of expropriation unless the undertaking is found to be materially different, or materially differently implemented, than as explained to the MLIT and/or the relevant local government. 3.5 Decommissioning a Generation Facility If an operator of an Electricity Generation Business intends to suspend or terminate the whole of its generation business, it must submit a notification to METI in advance (as described in 1.7 Announcements Regarding New Policies , the 2023 Amendment intro- duced the prior filling obligation for the abolition of certain generation facilities). In addition, if the opera- tor decommissions a generation facility that has an installed capacity of 100 MW or more, such operator must also submit a notification in advance to OCCTO in accordance with the Network Codes. With respect to a nuclear power plant, the operator must prepare a decommissioning plan and obtain approval from the NRA for the plan under the Act on the Regulation of Nuclear Source Material, Nuclear Fuel Material and Reactors. Further, in response to public concern about illegal abandonment of solar power plant facilities, under the Renewable Energy Special Measures Act, operators are required to establish a mandatory reserve to cover decommissioning costs for those facilities subject to the FIT Regime or the FIP Regime. Moreover, in order to promote the recycling of solar panels, the Solar Panel Recycling Bill was submitted to the Diet in 2026 and is on the verge of becom- ing law. Under this Bill, solar power operators must submit a recycling plan in advance when planning to dismantle solar panels, and the authorities may order changes to that plan if the authorities determine such plan is inappropriate.
With regard to offshore wind power generation facili- ties subject to the Offshore Wind Promotion Act, measures to ensure decommissioning costs must be adequately funded and are required to be taken under the bidding guidelines. In addition, as with solar powerplants, operators of onshore and offshore wind farms are subject to mandatory reserve funding accu- mulation to cover decommissioning costs under the Renewable Energy Special Measures Act. 4. Transmission Lines and Associated Facilities 4.1 Constructing and Operating Transmission Lines and Associated Facilities The Electricity Business Act governs the licensing arrangements for the construction and operation of transmission and distribution networks, as well as the procedures for the construction of such networks and associated facilities. In general, METI controls the development of trans- mission and distribution networks by requiring TSOs and Electricity Transmission Business operators to submit a development plan of their major network assets (major transmission lines and transformer sta- tions) for the forthcoming ten years. With respect to individual construction work, the operator is required to file a construction plan with METI no less than 30 days prior to commencement of the work if it involves the construction of a transmission line or transformer substation of 170 kV (in some cases, 100 kV) or more. Such transmission lines or transformer substations must pass a pre-use investigation conducted by METI before being provided for commercial operation. Con- struction of transmission facilities does not require an environmental impact assessment under the EIA Act. In addition, TSOs need to consider the Master Plan and network construction plans for the geographical area they are responsible for when they develop their transmission lines and associated facilities. See 1.7 Announcements Regarding New Policies .
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