Tokyo Opens New Application Round for Corporate Carbon Credit Projects

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has relaunched its Carbon Credit Utilisation Promotion Project for the fiscal year 2026 (FY2026), offering grants to businesses developing carbon credit projects under Japan's domestic J-Credit scheme. The programme, which debuted in FY2025, is now accepting applications for projects running through 31 March 2027.

Employees working on carbon-neutral strategies in a modern Tokyo office, illustrating Japan’s growing commitment to corporate sustainability initiatives. AI generated picture.

Funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis and will close once the allocated budget is exhausted. To remain eligible, projects must file completion reports by 24 December 2027.

Grant amounts vary by company size. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can receive up to JPY2 million ($12,614) to fund emissions calculations and carbon project branding and promotion. Larger companies qualify for up to JPY1 million ($6,307) to support promotional activities related to their carbon projects.

Beyond the grant, SMEs entering the programme in FY2026 gain access to an additional layer of financial support: a dedicated loan scheme and subsidies covering two-thirds of the credit guarantee fee, lowering the cost of participation for smaller businesses.

The J-Credit scheme underpinning these projects is Japan's domestic carbon credit framework, through which organisations generate and trade credits. TMG's support programme forms part of its Zero Emission Tokyo Strategy, the city's long-term plan to achieve net-zero CO₂ emissions by 2050.

In parallel, TMG is advancing the integration of trading platform Carbon Ex with Tokyo's carbon credit market, which launched in March 2025. The integration will make a share of Carbon Ex's credits available via an application programming interface (API), expanding the range of tradeable assets on the city's market to include both J-Credit units and overseas voluntary carbon credits.

The announcements arrive as Japan's GX (Green Transformation) emissions trading scheme enters its second phase, adding further weight to the country's push to build out its carbon market infrastructure.