World energy demand has been increasing since the first industrial revolution. its vearly increasing rate is 2-5% since a century ago. If this rate of increase keep constant, the energy consumption in 2, 000 would be about 32 billion ton and amount to about 500-550 billion ton in the aggregate 1963-2000. In spite of such increasing rate, the energy demand in 2000 would not worry about.
The above situation means the whole world energy consumption, which can apply to the highly-developed countries. Turning over the Japan's energy situation since the Meiji Restoration, except the temporary vacancy days immediately after the world war II, Japan has made steady progress. The energy economic efficiency in Japan will be well comparable with that of in U. S. A., U. K., U. S. S. K. and West Germany.
The future energy demand in this country is estimated to about 1, 200 million ton, 94% of which is dependent on import, and to about 1, 500 million ton in 2000. The annual amount of petroleum import is considered to become about one billion kl.
The coal industry in Japan is very serious, which is caused by the lowering of oil price. The coal output plan of yearly 55 million ton will be very difficult to be kept in future.
The oil industry, which induced the panic of the coal industry, was attacked by oil flood caused by the discovery of great oil reserves in the Middle-East Asia. The oil reserves in this area attains to about two-thirds of the world reserves. These resources have induced the enlargement of oil tankers, modernization of harbor facilities, scale-up of refineries, which have naturally lowered the cost of oil products.
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