Overview

• Following reports of multiple legal breaches, Hokkaido broadened its request for advance information on new renewable energy construction plans from eight Kushiro-area municipalities to the entire prefecture to detect problems earlier.
• A Kushiro city councilor, Hayato Kimura, said Japan Ecology conducted work for more than six months without filing a soil-contamination notification required by law, citing confirmation from the responsible Hokkaido division.
• The allegation concerns a large solar development near the Kushiro Wetland, an ecologically sensitive area where siting has drawn heightened scrutiny.
• There is no reporting in these articles of administrative enforcement actions or a public response from Japan Ecology regarding the notification claim.
• Separately, Ember reported that renewables accounted for 34.3% of global generation versus coal’s 33.1% in the first half of 2025, based on data from 88 countries covering about 90% of electricity demand, and noted regional differences including declines in China and India and increases in the United States and European Union.