Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) have identified two sites off Akita City and Hibikinada Sea as promising offshore wind areas, while three sites off Chiba, Nagasaki, and Kagoshima have been marked as preparation areas.
The newly designated promising areas are located off the coast of Akita City, Akita Prefecture, and off the coast of Hibikinada Sea, Fukuoka Prefecture.
In addition, areas off Asahi City in Chiba Prefecture, the south coast of Goto City in Nagasaki Prefecture (for floating structures), and off Ichikikushikino City in Kagoshima Prefecture have been designated as preparatory areas.
In July 2025, Japan’s House of Representatives passed a bill that enables offshore wind projects to be built in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), beyond the 22-kilometre line of Japan’s territorial waters.
A few months later, METI and MLIT announced two areas off the southern coast of Hokkaido as promotion zones for the country’s upcoming offshore wind auctions.
On 3 October 2025, the ministries also chose three sites, off Akita, Asahi and Hibikinada, for surveys. As part of the centralisation scheme, JOGMEC will carry out the work in three newly designated zones.
Japan aims to have 10 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 30-45 GW by 2040, including floating wind, as part of its target to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.