Alex Bunodiere comments

Firstly this article is misleading "Japan currently depends on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power to generate 17 percent of its electricity" but the vast majority of this renewable energy is from Hydro (10% of the total) not solar and wind.

Secondly, Japan's current electricity grid doesn't promote a high penetration of variable renewable energies (VRE)(Solar,Wind). I did my masters thesis on the curtailment issue in Kyushu region, and it's clear that without improving the intergrid electricity transfer between regions, there will be unsustainable levels of RE curtailment in the future as VRE levels increase

Thirdly, while forests do absorb CO2, if you chop them down and burn them, then you release that CO2, so at best it's carbon neutral, but all the planting, harvesting, transporting etc is done via fossil fuels. Point is, this is not the solution for Japan massive appetite for electricity, this would only account for a tiny percentage of electricity demand. Japan needs grid infrastructure development, RE diversification and policy changes.