Zero-Emission Shipping in Japan

In October 2025, an extraordinary session of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee was held. Negotiations took place on a draft amendment to the Convention aimed at achieving the international target of ‘GHG emissions from international shipping by around 2050’. Japan has been co-sponsoring the proposal alongside Europe and leading the negotiations. However, the member states were unable to reach a consensus. Consequently, it was decided to convene another extraordinary session one year later to resume the adoption process.
In parallel with the IMO negotiations, Japan, as a maritime nation, has been supporting the introduction of zero-emission vessels. Given Japan’s scarcity of natural resources, the government’s ZE shipping policy provides parallel support for the overseas procurement of ZE fuels and the development of ZE vessels. The government does not specify the type of ZE vessel and is providing financial support to various types of ZE vessels in parallel. Japanese shipping companies are similarly planning a path to transition from heavy fuel oil to low-carbon vessels, and ultimately to ZE vessels without specifying a particular type of vessel. Imabari, a major Japanese shipbuilder and JMU merged in 2026, giving them the largest market share in Japan and the fourth-largest globally. Imabari and JMU specialise in ammonia, whilst KHI specialises in hydrogen.