Japan Mulls Subsidizing Sustainable Aviation Fuel for Domestic Airlines; Would Require Fuel Suppliers to Provide Mixture

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, January 26, 2026

The government plans to support the cost of next-generation aviation fuel, known as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), by subsidizing purchases by domestic airlines.

The plans would require all airline passengers to shoulder an additional charge of several tens of yen while oil refiners and distributors would need to incorporate SAF, made from feedstocks such as used cooking oil, into aviation fuel. The government aims to promote domestically produced SAF from the perspectives of both supply and demand.

The government is expected to compile a basic policy framework to accelerate SAF adoption at an upcoming public-private council meeting, with an eye toward revising the Airport Law, it intends to finalize the details by fiscal 2026.

Compared with conventional jet fuel derived from crude oil, SAF can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 80%. However, procurement costs are widely believed to be 2 to 3 times higher, posing a major hurdle to broader uptake.

To address this gap, some airports in Italy and the United Kingdom subsidize the procurement of SAF with revenue from airport user fees. The European Union, meanwhile, requires SAF blending in fuel used at airports across the bloc and has set a goal of increasing the blending rate targets of a 6% by 2030 and 70% by 2050. The Japanese government plans to reference these examples when creating its own system.

The basic policy is also expected to specify robust capital investment support for suppliers along with cooperation with municipalities and collection firms to expand the recovery of used household cooking oil.

Amid the global tightening of regulations on CO2 emissions from air transport, SAF is increasingly seen as key to decarbonization in the aviation industry. Global demand is projected to rise to 88 million kiloliters in 2030 and to 650 million kiloliters in 2050.