Japan's continued reliance on fossil fuels poses significant risks to its economy and people's livelihoods, according to a new report jointly published by SOMPO Institute Plus and Japan Youth Council.
The 71-page fossil fuel dependence risk visualization report, "From Crisis Response to Crisis Avoidance — Lessons from the Iran Situation to Break Fossil Fuel Dependence and Strengthen Energy Self-Reliance —" was published in July 2026.
The report has been produced by SOMPO Institute Plus, in collaboration with the Japan Youth Council, a biparty youth organisation, and under the supervision of Mr Kisho Oba, head of the Post-Petroleum Strategy Research Institute.
According to the executive summary of the report Japan faces structural vulnerabilities such as low energy self-sufficiency and high dependence on fossil fuels and faces major crises such as declining industrial competitiveness and pressure on people's livelihoods amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and the global wave of decarbonisation.
Rather than focusing on symptomatic treatments focused on price control, it is urgent to allocate more policy resources toward "structural transformation" resilient to shocks, such as expanding energy saving, electrification, and non-fossil power sources, rather than focusing on symptomatic treatment focused on price control.
Since SOMPO, the parent company of the SOMPO Institute Plus, has yet to establish a policy to halt underwriting new fossil fuel projects, and given that human rights issues have arisen in projects such as the Rio Grande and Calcasieu Pass 2 LNG projects, SOMPO itself must change its behavior in order to mitigate the risks identified in the report.
In a commentary on the report, Insure Our Future has said, “Since SOMPO, the parent company of the SOMPO Institute Plus, has yet to establish a policy to halt underwriting new fossil fuel projects, and given that human rights issues have arisen in projects such as the Rio Grande and Calcasieu Pass 2 LNG projects, SOMPO itself must change its behaviour in order to mitigate the risks identified in the report.
Insure Our Future is a global campaign of NGOs and social movements that hold the insurance industry accountable for its role in the climate crisis.