[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Japan is pushing a policy to completely ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by the mid-2030s.
According to NHK on the 3rd, the Japanese government is reportedly considering a plan to completely ban new gasoline-powered vehicles by the mid-2030s as part of its measures against global warming.
Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, who took office last September, has set the goal of "net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050." The policy to phase out gasoline vehicles from the new car market by the mid-2030s is an extension of this goal.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the main government agency in charge, plans to present specific targets within this year after review meetings involving experts.
Until now, Japan had only announced a goal to reduce the proportion of gasoline vehicles in the new car market to 30-50% by 2030. This is the first time Japan has specified a concrete timeline for the sales ban.
Last year, 4.3 million new passenger cars were sold in Japan, of which gasoline and diesel vehicles accounted for 61% (2.61 million units).
Among the rest, about 30% were hybrid vehicles (HV), while the share of electric vehicles (EV), which are more efficient as a global warming countermeasure, remained at around 0.5%.
The sluggish EV sales are due to a lack of charging infrastructure and the fact that major automakers like Toyota have focused their efforts more on HVs than EVs.
The Japanese government plans to strengthen policies to expand the adoption of EVs along with HVs, which domestic companies excel in, to realize a low-carbon society with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
NHK analyzed that "Japan's delayed participation in this movement means it intends to lead the global trend of 'phasing out gasoline'."
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