There have been a few sustainability-related news stories to note recently in Japan. Firstly, the Renewable Energy Institute (REI) released a report on decarbonisation pathways for the cement industry. Then, this week, the Japan Cement Association (JCA) held a press briefing on the sector’s work towards net zero and it released production and sales data. Finally, on a connected note, a speaker from Sumitomo Osaka Cement gave a presentation on recycling gypsum wallboard for cement production at last week’s Global Gypsum Conference.
The REI’s report is similar to other roadmaps published by cement associations around the world. The differences with the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) targets are worth pointing out though. The JCA is more conservative on the use of blended cements. It only specifies an aggregate CO2 reduction target for 2030, limited to a greater use of alternative fuels (AF) and improved energy efficiency. Similarly, it forecasts clinker factors of 0.825 in 2030 and 0.80 in 2050, compared to the GCCA targets of 0.58 in 2030 and 0.52 in 2050. The report goes on to show that JCA members have higher Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a higher clinker factor than comparable multinationals, including Holcim, Heidelberg Materials and SCG. In summary the REI concludes that the local sector has been delayed in adopting blended cements, slow on using more renewable energy and continues to be reliant on coal.
The JCA’s update is more practical and outlines what can be expected. A benchmarking system for the sector was established in the 2025 financial year. The country’s emissions trading scheme will then start in the 2026 financial year. Companies that emit a three-year average of over 100,000t/yr of CO2 will be subject to the scheme. The JCA is currently emphasising the sector’s role at the heart of the circular economy. It pointed out that it used just under 22Mt (5%) of the country’s total waste in 2024. It had an AF substitution rate of 27% in that year also. Other waste streams used included over 5Mt of blast furnace slag, over 6Mt of coal ash and around 1.7Mt of flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) gypsum.
That last one ties into a presentation that Yuki Mihashi, Sumitomo Osaka Cement, gave at the recent Global Gypsum Conference, held last week in the Netherlands. He gave an overview of his company’s pilot testing of a carbon capture and utilisation process that uses waste gypsum wallboard and mineralises it to make an artificial limestone from cement plant CO2 emissions. The current pilot plant is based in Osaka and was completed in June 2025. It consumes 10kg/hr of gypsum and can produce around 5.8kg/hr of calcium carbonate. Gypsum wallboard professionals at the event had previously expressed concerns about competition for raw materials from cement producers. If developments like this one progress to full scale deployment there could potential be repercussions in other industrial sectors.
Graph 1: Cement production in Japan, 2019 - 2025. Source: Japan Cement Association. Figure for 2025 is estimated based on nine-month data.
Finally, the latest data from the JCA shows that cement production fell by 3% year-on-year to 32.99Mt in the first nine months of 2025 from 34Mt in the same period in 2024 . Overall sales followed a similar trend, although exports rose by 9% from 5.91Mt to 6.43Mt. This follows a general decline in cement production in Japan since the mid-1990s.
In summary, work on sustainability in the cement sector continues in Japan as it does elsewhere. The conservative approach to clinker factor forecasts is interesting to note compared to more optimistic projections elsewhere. A slower update of blended cements may explain some of this. Interestingly, Taiheiyo Cement said in June 2025 that it was expanding a hub in Saiki to export blended cements rather than using them domestically. On other issues, a current lower AF substitution rate compared to Europe offers one pathway for emissions reduction. The impending ETS may also galvanise action and investment. Expect plenty more sustainability news in the coming weeks ahead of the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP), which is set to take place in mid-November 2025 in Belém, Brazil.
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