Yokosuka's Coal-fired Power Station

Yokosuka power station - Global Energy Monitor

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Yokosuka power station (横須賀発電所) is an operating power station of at least 1300-megawatts (MW) in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan.

In 2014, TEPCO and J-Power proposed a 1,000 MW coal-fired power station in the city of Yokosuka, with a planned operation date of 2020.  It will be constructed at the site of Tepco's Yokosuka oil-fired power plant, which has been taken offline because of its age.

According to the Kiko Network, the unit would be 650 MW. It is under EIA assessment and planned for operation in 2023.

In April 2016, TEPCO said it was adding another 650 MW unit to the plant, also under permit review and planned for operation in 2024.  J-Power is no longer listed as a sponsor.  The plant is sponsored by Jera, the JV formed in 2015 between TEPCO and Chubu Electric Power.

In January 2018, the Draft Environmental Impact Assessment for the project was submitted by JERA, a joint subsidiary of TEPCO and Chubu Electric.

In April 2019, JERA's president stated that the company was still committed to building the plant despite the cancellation of several proposed coal plants in Japan and recent divestment from coal by numerous Japanese banks.

The EIS process was completed in February 2019.  According to the Kiko Network and news reports the plant construction of the plant had begun as of December 2019.

According to Beyond Coal Japan, the units are planned to come online in 2023 and 2024.

In July 2022, the power station started trial operations. The local group No Coal Tokyo Bay issued a protest statement against JERA.

Unit 1 started commercial operation on June 30, 2023, as Japan Beyond Coal highlighted.

Unit 2 started commercial operation on December 22, 2023.[15]

In June 2025, JERA announced plans to conduct carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) testing at Yokosuka power station.  The CCUS equipment was slated to be installed by FY2030.

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In April 2021, young climate activists protested at the plant arguing that it was necessary for Japan to phase out coal power to be successful in the fight against climate change.

In June 2023, the citizens group No Coal Yokosuka issued a statement of protest, calling to “Stop operation of the coal-fired power plant, which will intensify health risks for residents and accelerate the climate crisis.”  Kiko Network also issued a statement strongly protesting the operation of the plant.  Citing JERA’s major ad campaigns that claim to “Make fire that does not emit CO2”, the statement pointed out that JERA’s recent activities – starting operation of Taketoyo Unit 5 (a 1,070 MW coal power unit) last August and now also Yokosuka Unit 1, and constructing Yokosuka Unit 2 as well as other new LNG-fired thermal power stations – are not only not zero emissions, but actually increase Japan’s CO2 emissions.

The "Hidden Neighborhoods" Inside Yokosuka Navy Base

The large navy base in Yokosuka is located on a small peninsula where people lived for a long time before it was built-up to become the Imperial Japanese Navy's (IJN) "Yokosuka Naval Arsenal", starting in the mid-19th century.

Residents on the small peninsula dwelt in three neighborhoods: Tomari-Cho, Kusugaura-Cho, and Inaoka-Cho.  As IJN began facilities construction and making landfills, etc., the people in those neighborhoods were forced to relocate.

Currently, the addresses for the three neighborhoods still exist and are located inside the areas controlled by Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY).

Here is a brief description of how IJN acquired and used properties in Yokosuka, prior to and during World War II (WW2)...

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In Yokosuka before and during WW2, there were virtually no instances, except for a few special cases, of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) directly "expropriating" (forcibly and temporarily occupying) the homes and land of civilians.  However, IJN's influence on civilians was more widespread in the form of "eviction through purchase" rather than expropriation, and a "designated inn system" where houses were rented out.  The historical relationship between "civilian homes and land" and the "Navy" in Yokosuka will be explained in the following three points.

1.  Land acquisition by IJN before & during WW2 -- (purchase and eviction) 

In the late-19th/early-20th centuries, when IJN expanded its naval ports, arsenals, defensive gun batteries, and air bases (such as Oppama and Taura), it did not unilaterally seize (confiscate) the homes and land of civilians, but instead basically followed the procedure of "purchase by the state."  

However, in the final stages of WW2, when the fighting intensified, there were cases in which surrounding residents were ordered to vacate their homes in a semi-forced manner (land and houses were purchased by the state) in order to construct air raid shelters and underground factories in preparation for the decisive battle on the mainland. 

Of note, in the case of nearby Ikego in Zushi City, IJN bought up the land before WW2, forced civilian residents to vacate, and managed it as military land (i.e., as an ammunition depot).

2. De facto rental of "Navy-designated inns" 

During WW2, a huge number of IJN personnel gathered in Yokosuka from all over the country.  As IJN's own facilities could no longer accommodate them all, it designated private inns in the city as "Yokosuka Navy Non-Commissioned Officers and Sailors' Meeting Place & Designated Inns."

Almost all inns in the city, such as Ikkoku-ya, Yokosuka-ya, and Mikasa-kan, were assigned and effectively placed under IJN control as accommodations for IJN personnel departing for war and their families who came to see them off.

3.  Large-scale "reclamation" was carried out by the post-war U.S. military (occupying forces). 

Much of the public memory and record of "civilians' homes being requisitioned" is not from IJN, but from the American military (occupying forces) that occupied Japan after the end of the war. 

After the end of the war in August 1945, the Allied forces (GHQ) took control over not only former Japanese military facilities, but also civilian homes and upscale Western-style houses -- and used them as accommodations and facilities for U.S. military officers.

In Yokosuka and the neighboring city of Yokohama, many civilian homes were requisitioned and later converted into U.S. military facilities (U.S. military family housing, etc.). 

This strong post-war impression is sometimes confused with the image of "being taken by IJN during WW2."