Dirty power stations seen as bigger threat to Japan car output than quake
11/03/2021 05:36
TOKYO, March 11 (Reuters) - A global shift to zero carbon
emission rules poses a greater potential threat to car
manufacturing in Japan than the earthquake and tsunami that
devastated its northwest coast exactly a decade ago, Toyota
Motor's president said on Thursday.
The 2011 Fukushima quake destroyed factories and disrupted
auto supply chains for months, raising questions about whether
production should go overseas.
A decade later, Japan's heavy reliance on coal and gas to
generate electricity means that unless it can replace them with
renewable energy sources, carmakers would emit carbon during
production that could put it over limits other countries adopt,
even for zero-emission vehicles, said Akio Toyoda, speaking as
chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association
(JAMA).
"In the past, production was moved out of Japan to the
markets where cars were sold or to lower wage locations that
gave a competitive advantage. The next shift could be to
countries that have a more sustainable energy structure," Toyoda
said.
"The challenge is an order of magnitude greater than the
quake was," he added, speaking on the tenth anniversary of the
quake and tsunami that destroyed towns and factories and claimed
20,000 lives.
Of the nearly 10 million cars built in Japan by Toyota
7203.T , Honda Motor Co 7267.T , Nissan Motor Co 7201.T and
other manufacturers, around half are exported, according to
JAMA.
The industry employs more than 5 million people and Japan's
car lobby can influence government policy. Toyoda's warning
comes as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's administration
considers how to achieve a target it announced last year to
eliminate greenhouse gases emission by 2050.
Japan has become more reliant on coal and natural gas since
the tsunami as the destruction of the Fukushima nuclear plant
forced the shutdown of other reactors.
In addition to an expansion of solar energy, Japan's
government and Toyota are also promoting the use of hydrogen
fuel as a way to lower carbon emissions.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; editing by Richard Pullin)
((tim.kelly@thomsonreuters.com; +813-6441-1311;))