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Table 3.8 Selected tax incentives, grants, and loan schemes available to both local and foreign-affiliated companies, 2021
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Title: Green Innovation Fund
Overview: Towards the goal of achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2050, the Government has established a JPY 2 trillion Green Innovation Fund under the FY2020 Tertiary Supplementary Budget and decided to assign the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) to its operation. Among the priority fields for which implementation plans have been formulated within the Green Growth Strategy, where policy effects are significant and long-term continuous support is required to realize social implementation, the Government will provide continuous support to companies and other organizations committed to take on challenges towards achieving specific goals from R&D through demonstration to social implementation for the next 10 years.
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Table 3.8 Selected tax incentives, grants, and loan schemes available to both local and foreign-affiliated companies, 2021
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Title: Investment Incentives for Promoting Carbon Neutrality
Overview: Special depreciation of 50% or a tax credit of (5% or 10%) of the cost of purchase of certain assets. Such assets must either (i) realize both decarbonization and improved added value of production process; or (ii) be used in production equipment of products with high decarbonization effects. (...)

3.101. According to the authorities, during the review period, Japan took measures regarding regulations on vehicle safety and environmental protection, such as the introduction of the international regulations into its national regulations regarding International Whole Vehicle Type Approval, under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations.

3.104. According to the authorities, the reason why there is a remaining gap of 3% in the harmonization of JIS [the Japanese Industrial Standard] with international standards is because of (i) protection of human health, safety, or the environment; (ii) fundamental climatic or other geographical factors; (...)

3.106. The authorities state that the drafting of technical regulations in Japan follows international requirements and recommendations. For instance, concerning vehicle safety and environmental protection, Japan has harmonized its national regulations with the International Whole Vehicle Type Approval under the UNECE World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations.

3.112. The Food Labelling Standards were also amended and entered into force on 16 July 2020 to reflect the revision to the Enforcement Order of the Act on Japanese Agricultural Standards to add organic livestock products in designated agricultural and forestry products. (...)

3.113. Another series of amendments entered into force on 30 March 2022 to make the nature of high oleic acid content in soybeans not subject to the "Specific Genetically Modified (GM) products" label and to make GM mustards subject to mandatory labelling for GM products.(...)

Box 3.1 Key agencies responsible for SPS measures
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MHLW: Pharmaceutical Safety and Environmental Health Bureau: Responsible for administration of food safety including specifications and standards for food, food additives, pesticide residues, animal drug residues, genetically modified foods and their containers, (...)

Box 3.1 Key agencies responsible for SPS measures
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Ministry of the Environment: Nature Conservation Bureau: Responsible for managing risks to the environment from imports, including from invasive alien species.(...)

Box 3.2 Selected SPS measures notified to the WTO, 2020-22
1. Notification of import (papaya seeds and seedlings for cultivation from Thailand)
The designation of living organisms that need notification prior to their importation based on the Cartagena Act (Japanese national law to implement the Cartagena Protocol on the Biosafety to Convention on Biological Diversity) was notified by WTO document G/SPS/N/JPN/874, 1 November 2021. The measure notified entered into force on 1 April 2022.
The outline of the measure is to prevent adverse effects on biological diversity. A person who imports papaya seeds and seedlings for cultivation from Thailand shall submit a notification to the MAFF[the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries] prior to their importation.
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