Number of public electric vehicle charging stations in Japan 2024, by type

The number of publicly accessible electric vehicle supply equipment chargers in Japan amounted to around 54.14 thousand as of March 2024. Slow charging stations were more common than fast charging ones.

Subsidizing progress

So far, electric cars accounted for a rather small percentage of vehicle purchases in Japan. According to Japanese consumers, one of the main reasons for shying away from the acquisition of an EV was the accessibility to charging stations. Recent governmental endeavors to improve domestic EV infrastructure included substantial subsidies provided to public and private stakeholders for expanding the number of publicly available charging stations.

Are efforts paying off?

Efforts to minimize carbon dioxide emissions through road transportation in Japan are starting to pay off. While sales figures of electric vehicles are still comparatively low, the share of hybrid vehicle sales increased further, making it the leading propulsion type by sales volume. Japanese automakers are now trying to increase the adoption rate of EVs by adding battery power to so called kei cars, a mini-sized and affordable vehicle type that is extremely popular in Japan.