Hogan Lovell OffshoreBook 2023 230809 OnlinePDF - Flipbook - Page 156
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Japan
o) Amending a certified occupancy plan
To amend a certified occupancy plan,
the business operator must obtain the
approval of METI and MLIT. Approval for
a change will likely only be given if it is
found that the amendment is necessary
to satisfy the qualification requirements,
such as contributing to further enhancing public interests.
If there is a change in the SPC members,
the certified occupancy plan must be
changed to that effect. Whether METI/
MLIT will approve a change to a certified
plan is determined on a case-by-case
basis from the viewpoint of whether it
contributes to the further promotion of
the public interest or whether there is
an unavoidable reason for the change.
The occupancy plan’s conformity to the
requirements will be particularly carefully
judged if:
(1) there is a change in the company with
the largest voting rights; the company
listed in the occupancy plan as the party
who will implement and manage the project withdraws from the SPC; or
(2) the proportion of voting rights held by
the parties subject to the assessment
falls below a certain number (by a transfer of less than two-thirds of the total
voting rights before the operation start
date or by a transfer of less than one-half
of the total voting rights after the operation start date).
p) Written consent of the fisheries
The Selected Business Operator must
apply for permission to occupy a Promotion Zone with MLIT, which in principle
should grant that permission. However,
MLIT may require additional conditions to the extent it considers doing so
necessary for the use or preservation of
the sea area in the Promotion Zone. One
such possible condition is that the business operator must obtain prior written
consent from the fisheries that are
members of the relevant Council. As the
Council’s failure to provide its consent
would violate a statutory obligation by
impeding the Selected Business Operator’s smooth implementation of a power
generation project in the Promotion
Zone, the government’s view is that imposing such a condition does not pose a
risk to the Selected Business Operator.
