Changes in the Energy Problem and the Required New Framework for the Solution

Abstract

Until recently, the energy problem in Japan had been the problem of how enough energy could be supplied to various sectors in society under Japan's conditions of only a few energy resources existing within its territory. However, recently new environmental and social conditions are arising. These new conditions strongly affect not only concrete measures for resolving the energy problem but also the characteristics of the energy problem itself. Nowadays, it seems to be impossible to resolve the energy problem without taking these conditions into consideration. For this reason, a new framework, which enables various social values to be reflected in concrete measures, is urgently needed to resolve the energy problem.