Changing behaviours rather than lifestyles
The notion of energy transition, which is omnipresent in public policy and discourse related to energy, has not been vastly analysed critically by social scientists yet. Following recent studies mostly focused on European cases, this paper provides an original contribution by examining the issue of behaviour and lifestyle change in Japan's energy transition. Japan is a fruitful case given that the notion of transition has been translated in various ways and has conveyed different meanings since the mars 2011 Fukushima accident, but also because Japan's energy transition shares many similarities with France and Germany. In addition, as in many other countries, while the necessity of changing behaviours and lifestyles enjoys a wide consensus, the conceptualization of the required changed significantly differs from one actor to another. After having examined these differences, this paper shows that Japan's energy transition is characterized by a strong technological focus and by an unambitious vision of behaviour and lifestyle change. By sharp contrast with alternatives preconised by other actors, the Japanese government limits its scope at promoting energy saving behaviours, purchasing of efficient appliances and other equipment, and inviting the public to participate to the energy management within the smart grids. By discarding more ambitious changes, this choice postpones the emergence and dissemination of low energy intensive lifestyles, perpetuates numerous energy intensive practices and makes climate change mitigation highly dependent on technological innovation.