Japan

Introduction

The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in Japan promotes the research and development of wind power generation technology nationally and supports projects that can reduce the cost of offshore wind power.

171 new wind turbines were installed in 2025, resulting in a capacity increase of 596 MW, equivalent to a year-on-year growth of 10%. The average size of installed turbines was 3.7 MW.

By the end of 2025, Japan's wind power generation capacity reached 6,434 MW (Figure 1) and the total number of wind turbines grew to 2,866. Japan's wind power capacity factor (national average) was 22%, and the proportion of wind power generated in Japan's total electricity supply mix grew to 1.4% (up 0.2% from 2024.) A demonstration of an all-in-one turbine installation to a floating spar was conducted by Toda Corporation in August. [1] The world's first dedicated "Plain Bearing test bench" for wind turbine application commenced operation in April. [2]

Market Development

Targets and Policy

• The Seventh Strategic Energy Plan was approved by the Cabinet in February 2025, enhancing previous plan.
• Japan's wind power policy aims to expand wind energy as a key renewable source under the S+3E (Safety, Energy Security, Economic Efficiency, Environment) principles while ensuring social acceptability and energy security. For onshore wind, the government acknowledges site scarcity, prolonged lead times due to local coordination, and environmental impact assessments. Policy therefore emphasizes regional planning, appropriate zoning, and streamlined yet effective environmental assessment processes, while strengthening cooperation with local governments to address community concerns and facilitate steady market development.
• Offshore wind power is positioned as a strategic "key power source" for large-scale renewable expansion due to its scalability, expected cost reductions, and economic spillover effects. The government sets explicit development targets of 10 GW by 2030 and 30–45 GW by 2040, including floating wind 15GW. To achieve these targets, Japan promotes centrally led site surveys, early-stage government involvement, expansion of designated promotion areas, expanding area to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and improved project predictability through timely grid connection and risk reduction measures.
• Supporting measures focus on strengthening transmission networks connecting wind-rich regions such as Hokkaido to demand centers, upgrading port infrastructure and installation capacity, and securing vessels and O&M capabilities. In parallel, the government encourages the formation of a competitive domestic supply chain, with industry targeting a 65% domestic procurement ratio by 2040, and promotes technological innovation and cost reduction—particularly for floating offshore wind—to enable sustainable, subsidy-independent market growth.

Progress and Operational Details

• As of the end of 2025, Japan's cumulative installed wind power capacity reached 6.43 GW, consisting of 2,866 turbines. During 2025, newly installed capacity totaled 625 MW (gross), with a net increase of approximately 596 MW after decommissioning. Deployment was dominated by onshore wind, while no new offshore wind projects reached commercial operation during the year.
• Onshore projects commissioned in 2025 included large wind farms exceeding 100 MW in scale, with modern turbines typically rated between 4 and 6 MW. Offshore projects under development are planning turbines in the 10–15 MW class, consistent with global market trends. Technical development activities continued in floating wind systems, foundations, and offshore O&M technologies, supported by national R&D programs.
• Average capacity factors for Japanese wind farms achieves 22%. Continuing O&M research emphasizing reliability and risk mitigation given Japan's harsh weather conditions.

Matters Affecting Growth and Work to Remove Barriers

• Wind power is a key element of Japan's renewable energy policy, but its expansion faces several challenges. Onshore wind development is increasingly constrained by the declining availability of suitable flat sites, as well as concerns from local communities. In addition, coordination with local stakeholders and responses to environmental impact assessments result in long lead times before projects can begin operation. Offshore wind, by contrast, offers high potential, particularly in regions such as Hokkaido and Tohoku, and allows for larger-scale development than onshore wind. However, Japan's geographic conditions, including steep terrain, complex geological structures, and relatively lower wind speeds at some locations compared with Europe, require careful site selection and coexistence with local communities.
• To further expand wind power deployment, the development of transmission networks connecting wind-rich regions such as Hokkaido with demand centers is essential. Based on the wide-area power grid master plan, Japan will promote the development of interregional transmission links, including subsea transmission between Hokkaido and Honshu.
• Offshore wind power is expected to achieve cost reductions and become a major power source, contributing to electricity supply, employment creation, and broader economic benefits. Through public tenders under relevant legislation, Japan aims to develop 10 GW by 2030 and 30–45 GW by 2040, including floating offshore wind. Measures include early government involvement, centralized surveys, infrastructure development, stronger project frameworks, improvement of institutional conditions, and expansion into the Exclusive Economic Zone. A competitive domestic supply chain, targeting a 60% domestic procurement rate by 2040, along with technology development and human resource development, is considered essential.

RD&D Activities

National RD&D Priorities and Budget

• Japan's national RD&D activities on wind energy in 2025 were strongly aligned with the government's long-term energy and climate strategies, including carbon neutrality by 2050 and the expansion of offshore wind as a core power source. The primary RD&D priorities focused on (i) large-scale deployment of offshore wind, including floating systems, (ii) reduction of levelized cost of energy (LCOE), (iii) grid integration and system stability, and (iv) environmental impact mitigation.
• Wind-related R&D in fiscal year 2025 amounted to approximately JPY 3.12 billion, mainly funded through national programs administered by NEDO. The budget level in 2025 was broadly maintained compared with 2024, following a gradual expansion in recent years driven by the acceleration of offshore wind deployment and the launch of next-generation floating offshore wind initiatives. Looking ahead, the prospect beyond 2025 remains stable, with continued emphasis on demonstration-oriented RD&D, large-scale testing, and international collaboration to support the national offshore wind capacity targets of 10 GW by 2030 and 30–45 GW by 2040.
• On a technical basis, these RD&D investments aim to develop large-scale floating wind turbine technologies together with advanced O&M solutions tailored to Japan's harsh operating conditions, such as deep waters, complex seabed geology, seismicity, and frequent typhoon exposure. Economically, the expected benefits include cost reduction through standardized designs, improved project bankability, strengthened domestic supply chains, and strengthen the Japanese industry for offshore wind markets.

National Research Initiatives and Results

In 2025, several notable research outcomes were achieved. Key results include the following five areas:

• 1) Offshore wind cost reduction and economics. Research strengthened on reducing offshore wind power generation costs by enhancing turbine design for Japanese climate, floating and fixed-bottom foundations, electrical systems, and O&M technologies. Integrated R&D and demonstration projects aim to achieve globally competitive LCOE and accelerate large-scale deployment, particularly under Japan's challenging marine conditions.
• 2) Floating offshore wind system integration. Research and development are underway to establish a computer simulation environment capable of fully coupled analyses for floating offshore wind power generation, encompassing wind conditions, wave dynamics, wind turbines, floating platforms, and mooring systems. This initiative is expected to contribute to improved system-level reliability and cost reduction, supporting the future deployment of large-scale floating offshore wind projects.
• 3) Operation and maintenance (O&M) optimization. O&M-related research has advanced in areas such as computer simulation methods for lubricating oil degradation at the molecular level, plain bearings for main bearings that can be replaced without the use of large cranes, long-range blade inspection drones, and optimized access strategies under severe weather conditions. These research activities will contribute to optimized O&M practices and reduced life-cycle costs, which are particularly critical for offshore and floating wind farms located far from shore.
• 4) Offshore wind resource assessment and digital design tools. Continued development and application of offshore wind condition observations, including wind lidar, together with numerical modeling tools improved wind resource assessment accuracy. These advancements support both initial project development and long-term operational optimization.

Test Facilities

• In 2025, Japan expanded its wind energy test infrastructure to support reliability improvement and cost reduction. Daido Metal Co., Ltd. commissioned a large-scale sliding bearing test facility for wind turbine main shafts at its research site in Saga. The facility enables bench testing of split-type plain bearings under load conditions representative of multi-MW offshore wind turbines, supporting evaluation of durability, condition monitoring, maintenance procedures, and lifecycle cost reduction. (Figure 2)
• In addition, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) continued operation of blade erosion test facilities to evaluate rain erosion resistance of blade materials and protection systems, contributing to improved blade durability and standardized test methods.

Demonstration Projects

A floating offshore wind demonstration was also conducted by Toda Corporation, featuring an all-in-one installation concept using a real 2 MW wind turbine as a one third scale model of a 15 MW class turbine, in which the full 2 MW turbine was lifted by a crane vessel and installed on a spar type floater.

Collaborative Research

In 2025, Japan continued active international and domestic collaborative research to address key technical challenges in wind energy. One major effort focused on wind condition measurements in complex terrain, where Japanese universities and research institutes collaborating with DTU (Danmarks Tekniske Universitet), to improve turbulence and wind field characterization using advanced remote sensing technologies, including Doppler lidar. Joint studies combined field measurements and high-resolution numerical simulations to reduce uncertainty in wind resource assessment for mountainous and coastal areas, supporting more reliable turbine design and energy yield estimation.

In parallel, Japan participated in collaborative research with DTU on wind turbine blade erosion, addressing a growing operational challenge for offshore and high-wind sites. This work involved joint experimental studies using multiple ground-based erosion test methods and comparative evaluation of blade materials and protective systems. The collaboration contributed to improved understanding of erosion mechanisms, supported efforts toward test method standardization, and provided a technical basis for enhancing blade durability and reducing long-term operation and maintenance costs.

Impact of Wind Energy

Environmental Impact

In 2025, Japan's installed wind power capacity reached 6.43 GW, generating approximately 10–11 TWh of electricity per year, equivalent to about 1% of national electricity supply. Wind power generation helped avoid an estimated 5 million tons of CO₂ emissions annually compared with thermal power generation, contributing meaningfully to Japan's climate and decarbonization objectives. The average capacity factor of wind power ranged from 20 to 22%, reflecting site conditions and the predominance of onshore installations. Despite these constraints, wind energy provided a stable and growing contribution to the power mix, supporting steady progress toward long-term decarbonization and energy transition goals.

Economic Benefits and Industry Development

In 2025, Japan's wind power policies and industry initiatives increasingly emphasized the localization of offshore wind supply chains to maximize economic benefits and strengthen industrial competitiveness, while also envisioning cooperation with overseas wind turbine manufacturers. Under this approach, government and industry efforts focused on domestic manufacturing and assembly of key components, including nacelles, foundations, towers, subsea cables, and specialized installation and maintenance vessels. These initiatives aimed to build long-term domestic capabilities while supporting large-scale offshore wind deployment.

A central industry target was to increase the domestic procurement ratio for offshore wind power projects to 65% or higher by 2040. This target was supported by public funding for manufacturing facilities, technology development, and workforce training, as well as reforms to offshore wind auction frameworks that encouraged localization and stable investment. As a result, domestic suppliers expanded their involvement across multiple segments of the value chain, contributing to regional economic development, particularly in port and coastal areas.

Despite ongoing challenges from inflation, rising material costs, and constrained global supply chains, localization efforts helped mitigate external risks and enhanced Japan's energy security. These developments laid the groundwork for a competitive domestic wind industry capable of supporting sustained deployment over the long term, while also improving resilience and creating new industrial and employment opportunities aligned with national offshore wind targets.

Next Term

As of 2025, several policies and programs are expected to shape Japan's wind power sector in the near term, with strong expectations for their future impacts.

Offshore wind auction reforms, expansion of the Marine Renewable Energy Act to the EEZ, and continued public investment in ports, grids, and supply-chain localization are anticipated to support accelerated project development. Research initiatives on floating offshore wind, large-scale O&M optimization, and wind measurement technologies are expected to reduce technical and commercial risks.

Sustained growth will require stable auction schedules, streamlined permitting, reinforced grid infrastructure, and skilled workforce development. In the near term, offshore wind is expected to drive capacity additions, moving Japan toward its 2030 target of 10 GW and establishing conditions for multi-GW annual installations thereafter.

References

1. Toda Corporation News Release: https://www.toda.co.jp/english/about_us/pdf/20250904_wind_turbine_demo_en.pdf
2. Daido Metal News Release: https://www.daidometal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Notice-about-Launch-of-%E2%80%98Plain-Bearing-Bench-Testing-Machine.pdf