Japan's next-gen fuel journal: SAF to reshape aviation — decarbonization and the race for domestic production

Summary

A feature from the Japanese monthly 'Jigyō Kōsō' online (reprinted with permission from the METI Kinki Bureau's official Note, originally published September 3, 2026) opens the 'Next-Generation Fuel Journal' series on sustainable aviation fuel. It explains that SAF — made from used cooking oil, woody biomass and bioethanol — is a drop-in fuel usable in existing aircraft and fueling infrastructure, cutting lifecycle emissions by roughly 60–80% versus conventional jet fuel; ICAO expects SAF to deliver about 55% of aviation decarbonization by 2050. Japan's policy stack includes the 2030 target of replacing 10% of domestic airlines' fuel with SAF, a public-private SAF council, Green Innovation Fund support for technology development, GX transition bond backing for large manufacturing equipment investment, a tax scheme to promote domestic production in strategic sectors, and feedstock supply-chain support. The three main barriers: high production costs, tight waste-cooking-oil supply amid international competition driving up prices, and securing demand while scaling volumes (2022 global SAF supply was about 300000 kilolitres, just 0.1% of global jet fuel). Domestic projects are advancing in Wakayama, Osaka, Chiba and Okinawa; Cosmo Oil's Sakai refinery began supplying domestically produced SAF in April 2025; the Kinki Bureau has hosted the 'Kansai Next-Generation Fuel Forum NEXT' since 2023, most recently on March 10, 2026.