Powering Modernity: Fossil Capitalism and Japan's Electrification

Tracing the history of Japan's electrification prior to the 1930s reveals how energy infrastructure expanded under the logic of fossil capitalism. Under market logic, privately owned utilities converted abundant coal and hydropower resources into electrical energy and sold it as a commodity. The rapid expansion of these utilities and accompanying fierce competition gave rise to novel financial instruments. The Japanese state supported fossil capitalism: centrally, it adopted a noninterventionist stance on price regulation, yet it implemented policies that leveraged market mechanisms to promote electrification. At the local level, public ownership and regulatory oversight remained weak. With the Japanese case, this article underscores the heterogeneity of electrification processes in Asia and demonstrates how Japan's early electrification linked fossil fuels, finance, and technological modernity.