For many years, Japan has been known as the Land of the Rising Sun. This symbolized the hope, wealth, and potential of the nation. However, today Japan is faced with troubling problems. Besides rare earth minerals, Japan lacks natural exports. Among the exports Japan lacks are oil, coal, and natural gas which arguably are the most important natural exports. In fact, according to the EIA (Energy Information Agency) Japan ranks 78th worldwide in crude oil production, doesn’t even mine coal, and ranks 50th in natural gas production. You might now think that Japan can get by using only their own fossil fuels. That assumption would be wrong. Because of their lack of fossil fuels, Japan heavily relies on imports. In fact, Japan ranks third in the world in total oil imports, and first in both coal and natural gas imports.1 These numbers do not bode well for the future of the Japanese people as the price of oil, coal, and natural gas are rising at a rapid rate. Can the Japanese people continue to prosper without significant amounts of fossil fuel, or will the lack of fuel turn Japan from a global superpower to a literal "fossil"?
Japan is a highly electronic society. Everywhere you go, every corner you turn, bright flashing lights and advertisements literally blind you. These many things would not work without energy. These fossil fuels are extremely scarce in Japan, but the nation relies on fossil fuels for about 80% of its vast energy needs.6 If Japan couldn't import these vast amounts of fossil fuels, the country would need to rely almost entirely on nuclear power, which could spell disaster for the island. An example of this is the recent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. This accident spread radioactive air pollution all over the globe, but especially in Japan. Proximity to this radioactive air has the potential to cause mutations, diseases, and even death.
Of the many things that Japan imports, the three fossil fuels: oil, natural gas, and coal are the largest imports for many reasons.1 The first reason is simply because of the sheer amount of these fuels that Japan imports. Last year, Japan imported a staggering $270.8 billion worth of fossil fuels.1 Also, fossil fuels are a large import because Japan’s vast economy needs power to run. Without power, every company would leave Japan. This severe reliance on fossil fuels makes them an even larger import.One more reason why fossil fuels are a large import is because of the many uses they have.
Fossil fuels are used in gasoline, kerosene, heating oil, plastic, and many more products.2 Fossil fuels are by far the largest Japanese natural import.
These fossil fuels are extracted from the ground using different methods. Oil is extracted from the ground in a very long system. First, people drill a hole over the oil trap.
Land of the Falling Sun?