Abstract for: Towards a Sustainable Local-led Renewable Energy System in Japan

Sustainable community-based renewable energy faces stagnation because projects are often perceived merely as "power generation facilities" rather than local assets, diminishing social acceptance. I argue that the critical leverage point lies in shifting the mental model: redefining RE business as "local problem-solvers". I employ CLD based on around 20-year history of "Ohisama Shimpo Energy". I model the feedback structure of social resistance prevalent across Japan and identify desired loops to suppress such resistance. By visualising how "Community- contributing business" reinforce human and social capital, we evaluate the system's contribution to the sustainable diffusion of Local-led renewable energy. Primary CLD analysis reveals a "capability gap" during the transition to local staffing due to delays in knowledge formalization. However, when RE business function as community problem-solvers,they can trigger a reinforcement loop of human capital inflow. The ultimate contribution is identifying that sustainable regional energy requires both external and internal transformation. Externally, businesses must prioritize community-benefiting projects fostered through collaboration with diverse actors over mere generation capacity. Internally, long- term success depends on shifting from individual-dependent efforts to building robust organizational capabilities and talent development.Simultaneously achieving these transitions offers a scalable model for Japan's autonomous regional decarbonization. Used for English language polising and ensuring adherene to the structured abstract's word count constraints.