Peak Oil at Japan's House of Councillors

There was a conference yesterday, Feb 29 about Peak Oil and how Japan will be affected. The venue was the House of Councillors, at the Japanese Parliament in Tokyo. The speaker was the author of several books and articles about Peak Oil, Ishii Yoshinori.

Ishii argues for (among other things) a "Plan B" for Japan's energy needs, with investments in train services instead of cars, a focus on local food production, less meat consumption, and energy savings at home. Ishii also thinks Japan's population should be allowed to shrink and worries that China will also be hit hard by Peak Oil, perhaps even this summer during the Olympics.

Peak Oil refers to the growing gap between oil demand and production. It is the point when the maximum rate of global petroleum production is reached, after which the rate of production enters a decline. If global consumption is not reduced before the peak, an energy crisis will certainly develop because oil will be less available. Prices will then rise dramatically, as we have seen in the past year.

Ishii Yoshinori has written extensively about energy issues for years, noting that "mother earth is limited and our resent civilization which is supported by cheap abundant oil is about to end. Unable to perceive this "Oil peak", Japan has been wasting a large amount of money, e.g. for infrastructures for motor vehicles." He strongly believes that we should abandon the present wasteful civilization.

One of his key ideas is the urgent need to move from muda (wastefulness) to mottainai (waste not) which he says is "vital for Japanese survival".

Read more about about prof. Ishii Yoshinori.

The event at Sangiin was sponsored by Ryuhei Kawada, a MP (independent) who got 683,629 votes in Tokyo last year, defeating the incumbent ruling Liberal Democratic Party candidate.