1. Background: Japan's Full Retail Electricity Market Liberalization
Japan fully liberalized its retail electricity market in April 2016. By end-2025, over 900 retailers were registered, with ~700 actively supplying power. EGC publishes monthly trading reports tracking new retailer market share.
2. December 2025 Data
Total electricity sold: 64.9 TWh (+0.2% YoY). New retailer market share: 22.1% (+2.0 pp YoY). Regulated tariff menu sales: continuing decline.
3. A Decade of Growth
Market share grew from under 1% in 2016 to 22.1% in December 2025 through four phases: rapid launch (2016-2019), consolidation (2020-2021), crisis impact (2022), and steady recovery (2023-2025).
4. Outlook
New retailer market share could surpass 25% by 2027-2028. Key challenges: procurement cost management, GX-ETS carbon cost pass-through, and renewable electricity differentiation.
