Japan must exit from coal power, and the government is responsible to make that happen.

Coal combustion emits huge amounts of CO₂ and other air pollutants. The coal era must be brought to an end.
But a new coal power plant being built in Yokosuka.
The government approved the project despite many concerns, and it is failing to regulate CO₂ emissions.
The residents of Yokosuka are challenging the government’s decision.

Joint statement by attorneys and plaintiffs regarding
the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss the Yokosuka Climate Case

In a decision dated October 23, 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed the plaintiffs appeal and denied the petition for acceptance of the appeal by residents and fishermen in and around Yokosuka City seeking the revocation of the administrative disposition by METI with implications for the suspension of construction and operation of a new coal-fired power plant planned after 2015, when the Paris Agreement was signed. The decision was based on the standard decision text, “The grounds for the appeal do not correspond to the grounds for a lawful appeal or petition for acceptance of appeal,” and did not indicate any judgment on the issues in the case. As a result, the operation of a coal-fired power plant in Yokosuka City, which emits a large amount of carbon dioxide, 1/5000th of the world’s emissions, was allowed to proceed.

Nowadays in Japan, cases of emergency medical care and deaths from heat stroke are increasing, disasters from heavy rains are occurring more frequently, and climate change is becoming increasingly serious on a global scale. Thus, reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is urgently required to achieve net zero. Under these circumstances, Japan is the only industrialized country in the world building and operating coal-fired power plants, which emit more than twice as much CO2 as gas power plants. This is an outrageous act in the midst of strong calls for the abolition of coal-fired power plants, such as the United Kingdom, which ceased operation of all coal-fired power plants by the end of September 2024.

Coal-fired power plants emit enormous amounts of CO2, but the environmental assessment did not consider alternative methods of power generation and omitted important studies based on the sophomoric argument that “construction of the plant will improve the environment”. The Supreme Court, however, refused to address even these obvious violations and approved the illegal practice.

The time we have left to avoid catastrophe is limited. Not only politics, but also the judiciary, must change. We do not flinch in the face of this decision and will continue to fight for the abolition of coal-fired power plants as soon as possible, and by all possible means.

October 26, 2024
Plaintiffs and attorneys for Yokosuka Climate Case

The Supreme Court decision record（PDF, Japanese)

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