Japan to Share Ibuki GW Satellite Methane Data to Drive Private Sector Decarbonization

By Tomoko Kito and Hiroto Nishihara / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

14:27 JST, November 17, 2025

BELEM, Brazil — The Environment Ministry and the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) will begin offering greenhouse gas observation data captured by a Japanese satellite to major financial institutions and other private companies free of charge from next year.

The firms will use the data to identify and help reduce sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

The data to be provided are observations of greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that have been gathered by Ibuki GW, a satellite Japan launched in June. Early next year, the Environment Ministry and NIES, which were involved in the satellite’s development, will initially supply methane data to MUFG Bank and Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.

At the same concentration, methane has a stronger warming effect than carbon dioxide. Reducing its emissions has therefore become a global priority.

Nevertheless, large volumes of the gas still leak unnoticed from oil and natural gas production sites and pipelines, making it one of the significant drivers of global warming.

To address this, MUFG Bank is planning to launch a new business to analyze the provided data and pinpoint the locations and scale of methane leaks. The business will then offer the findings to its clients in the energy-sector.

Sompo Japan, meanwhile, will compile risk reports containing information on methane leaks and provide them to its client companies and trading houses involved in the production and storage of liquefied natural gas. A Sompo Japan representative said they hope the reports will help the company’s clients “reduce the risk of losses caused by leaks.”

In the future, the Environment Ministry plans to offer the data to a broader range of domestic and international companies to accelerate decarbonization in the private sector.

Businesses that actively promote their climate-minded efforts based on such data are expected to have an easier time attracting investments.

A NIES official stressed the importance of the project, saying they hope “to spur climate action based on objective evidence and contribute to decarbonization worldwide.”