84 T. WAKIYAMA ET AL.
Notably, the backward linkage results of the power dispersion index
show that electricity (wind) and electricity (solar PV residence) rank
among the top 20 sectors in which backward linkage values exceed the
value of 1, which indicates that an increase of one unit in fi nal electricity
(wind) and electricity (solar PV residence) consumption will result in an
above-average increase in economic activities due to one extra unit of fi nal
consumption in any electricity sector. The sectors with strong backward
linkage values are regarded as secondary sectors that use inputs from other
sectors in their production sectors (see Table 5.1 ). Other sectors with
strong backward linkages include the following: car or vehicle,
petrochemical, motor vehicle, and iron and steel, which is not surprising,
as the Japanese economy relies heavily on these sectors. In addition, these
more capital-intensive sectors require the use of advanced technologies.
However, interestingly, an examination of the backward linkage of elec-
tricity (solar PV residence) shows that the top three input sectors that
increase demands by producing electricity (solar PV residence) include the
following: construction repair, education and research, fi nancial services,
and non-ferrous metals (Table 5.2 ). These results imply that to increase
electricity generation (solar PV residence), additional input supplies from
sectors such as the construction repair, fi nancial services, and non-ferrous
metals industries are required. Surprisingly, this analysis fi nds that the
fi nancial services sector contributes approximately 11 % of total major
input sector value for solar PV residence electricity generation.
5.4.2 Forward LinkagesForward linkage analyses show how strong growth in a sector leads to
growth in sectors that use corresponding sector outputs. The forward link-
age analysis shows that the iron and steel, transport, commerce, business
services, fi nancial services, and mining sectors represent the top six sectors
with the strongest forward linkages (index of sensitivity of dispersion), which
indicates that growth in these sectors will have the strongest impact on cor-
responding usage sectors in comparison with the effects on other sectors. In
addition, electricity (thermal power) was found to present a forward linkage
(index of sensitivity of dispersion) value that exceeds 1. When a sector gener-
ates a forward linkage value that exceeds 1, an increase of one unit of pro-
duction in the sector will cause an above- average increase in economic
activity due to one extra unit of production (see Table 5.3 ). For instance, the
transport sector presents strong forward linkages, which indicates that it