Japan Doubles Down On Ethanol Imports

Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The biofuel ethanol has taken the United States by subsidized storm, and now it seems Japan too wishes to embrace this mainly corn-sourced fuel by committing to the US government to upgrade its ethanol demand.

When US President Joe Biden visited Japan last month, the joint statement included Tokyo’s promise to double ethanol imports from the United States by 2030, utilizing it as fuel for ground and air transportation.

US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel personally celebrated this development, declaring on Twitter: “More American corn, less Russian oil, and better for the environment—a win all around. Another notch in the belt for tighter US-Japan relations.”

Also, the US Grains Council, a trade association that promotes exports, publicly thanked Emanuel for his efforts to communicate the biofuel’s benefits to the Japanese government, and noted that Japan already ranked “as the fourth-largest export market for US coarse grains, co-products, ethanol, and meat products.”

Ethanol is being promoted by the US Grains Council and others as a way for countries to meet carbon-reduction goals and still offer consumers an efficient fuel. The US Renewable Fuel Standard program argues that “a certain volume of renewable fuel [can] replace or reduce the quantity of petroleum-based transportation fuel, heating oil, or jet fuel.”

While US farmers and trade groups have celebrated biofuel promotion, concerns for energy security and achieving carbon neutrality are also key considerations.

On the other hand–similar to the wood pellet biofuels that the Japanese government has been keen on–ethanol runs into farming and land-use issues. Production of ethanol itself creates a considerable amount of carbon dioxide emissions.

Tokyo believes, however, that imports of ethanol from the United States might be useful in meeting its national carbon emissions reduction targets.
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