Japanese bathers continue to oppose geothermal development.
Onsen in Hakone, Japan (source: flickr/ kenleewrites, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
5 Jul 2016
Japanese spa community continues to oppose geothermal development in fears of power plants having an impact on the resources feeding local onsens.
Over the years, we have been writing about the opposition of the spa and onsen owners against any geothermal development in Japan. Bloomberg now recently picks up on that in the story “Naked Bathers and Tradition Stymie Japan’s Clean Energy Ambition”.
With the enormous geothermal resources, Japan continues to be behind in development of geothermal projects despite a need for renewable energy projects and a supportive incentive scheme.
In the article Toru Saito, Chief Secretary of Japan’s Geothermal Association, refers to ongoing “problems related to hot springs and national natural parks”. Environmental assessments and survey drilling, as required, continue to be taking way too much time.
Last year the Japanese government relaxed rules that are protect onsen and natural parks. We also recently reported on a new insurance offered that would help cover some of the risks seen by the onsen/ spa community in geothermal development.
But the Japan Spa Association, representing around 1,200 members, still “strongly opposes geothermal development”.
While other countries show that geothermal development for power generation can co-exist with direct use applications, such as spas and baths, there seems to be still a long way in Japan to find common grounds on the utilisation of the great geothermal resources of the country.
