Solar power in Japan

Solar power in Japan has been expanding since the late 1990s. Japan is a large installer of domestic PV systems, with most of them grid connected. The country was a major manufacturer and exporter of photovoltaics (PV), with a global market share of around 50% in the early 2000s. However, by 2019, this had dropped to below 1% due to the rise of state-backed production in China.

With almost no domestic oil and gas reserves, Japan began investing heavily in research and development of renewable energy and energy conservation following the 1973 oil crisis. The Sunshine Project (1973–1992) explored the potential of solar power, geothermal power, liquefied coal, and hydrogen as primary energy sources. In 1992, during the early years of commercial PV installation, Japan accounted for 27.8% of global PV production, and by 2004, this had risen to 50.4%. Although conventional PV is no longer mass-produced in the country, Japan has been investing in perovskite solar cell technology in recent years, a technology invented by Tsutomu Miyasaka. Commercial production of perovskite cells in Japan is expected to begin by 2027.

Solar power has become an important national priority since the country's shift in policies toward renewable energy after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011. Japan was the world's second largest market for solar PV growth in 2013 and 2014, adding a record 6.97 GW and 9.74 GW of nominal nameplate capacity, respectively. By the end of 2017, cumulative capacity reached 50 GW, the world's second largest solar PV installed capacity, behind China. In line with the significant rise in installations and capacity, solar power accounted for 9.9% of Japan's national electricity generation in 2022, up from 0.3% in 2010.

In the 2000s, Japanese manufacturers and exporters of photovoltaics included Kyocera, Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Sanyo, Sharp Solar, Solar Frontier, and Toshiba. However, these manufacturers had stopped mass-producing PV by 2019.

During the Reagan administration in the United States, oil prices decreased, and the US removed most of its policies that supported the solar industry. Government subsidies were higher in Japan (as well as Germany), which prompted the solar industry supply chain to begin moving from the US to those countries.

The Japanese government is seeking to expand solar power by enacting subsidies and a feed-in tariff (FIT). In December 2008, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced a goal of 70% of new homes having solar power installed, and would be spending $145 million in the first quarter of 2009 to encourage home solar power. The government enacted a feed-in tariff in November 2009 that requires utilities to purchase excess solar power sent to the grid by homes and businesses and pay twice the standard electricity rate for that power.

On June 18, 2012, a new feed-in tariff was approved, of 42 Yen/kWh. The tariff covers the first ten years of excess generation for systems less than 10 kW, and generation for twenty years for systems over 10 kW. It became effective July 1, 2012. In April 2013, the FIT was reduced to 37.8 Yen/kWh. The FIT was further reduced to 32 Yen/kWh in April 2014.

In March 2016, a new feed-in tariff was approved for electricity generated by photovoltaic power. The Procurement Price Calculation Committee compiled and publicized recommendations concerning the FY 2016 purchase prices and the periods to which they apply. Respecting the recommendations, METI finalized these as follows: