In 2021, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation (MLIT) formed the "Study Group on CO2 Reduction in the Aircraft Operation Sector" with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions from aircraft and announced a "Process Chart for Promoting Decarbonization of Aviation," which includes a goal of replacing 10% of jet fuel consumption by Japanese airlines with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) by 2030. In April 2022, the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) and the MLIT established a SAF Public-Private Council to promote the introduction of SAF. In May 2023, the ANRE set a 2030 SAF supply target and a proposed target of replacing 10% of aviation fuel with SAF for domestic airlines.
The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation (MLIT) formed the "Study Group on CO2 Reduction in the Aircraft Operation Sector" to lead discussions on CO2 reduction in the aviation sector including the introduction of SAFs. With these discussions led by the Study Group, the MLIT announced a "Timeline for Promoting the Decarbonization of Aviation" in December 2021. The timetable includes a goal of replacing 10% of jet fuel consumption by Japanese airlines with SAF by 2030.
Since April 2022, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the MLIT have hosted a SAF Public-Private Council to accelerate the introduction of SAF. In June 2022, a partial amendment bill to the Aviation Law was passed and the it was decided, among other things, that the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation would formulate a "Basic Policy for the Promotion of Decarbonization of Aviation," and the law has been put into effect in December 2022. The Basic Policy includes not only emission reduction targets for international and Japanese airlines, but also promotion of SAF introduction. SAF application is also emphasized in the "Basic Policy for Realizing Green Transformation (GX) – A roadmap for the next 10 years" and its reference materials. In February 2022, the utilization of SAF was discussed at the GX Implementation Council led by the Cabinet Secretariat and approved by the Cabinet.
During the third SAF Public-Private Council in May 2023, METI proposed a draft plan which included a SAF mandate of 10% by 2030, legislated under the “Act of Sophisticated Methods of Energy Supply Structures” by 2030. Furthermore, at the fourth SAF Public-Private Council in May 2024, the SAF supply level set in this act will be put into effect by the summer of 2024. In addition, the Council has set a target for Japanese airlines to replace 10% of their jet fuel consumption with SAFs by 2030.
In the realization of the SAF supply target for 2030, upfront investments will be implemented in the form of the Green Innovation Fund (started in FY2021) and Upfront GX Investment Support (started in FY2024).
Green Innovation Fund
・Development of ATJ technology (Alcohol to Jet) to produce large volumes of SAF from ethanol
・Development of large-scale, highly efficient production technology for synthetic fuels using FT synthesis, etc.
Upfront GX investment support
・The scale of investment amounts to over 1 trillion JPY: Based on the "upfront investment plans" of companies, support for capital investment, amongst other things (such as construction of large-scale SAF production facilities and development of supply chains to secure stable raw materials), will be promoted.
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