East Japan earthquake and the induced Fukushima nuclear plant accident have posed a serious challenge to Japan’s nuclear-centered energy strategy. To satisfy the “3E+S” strategic demand，the importance of renewable energy has grown. The development of renewable energy faces challenges from technology，electricity allocating and supplying regime，and fiscal burden. However，renewable energy’s development can not only mitigate Japan’s current difficulty in energy supply，but also nurture the competitiveness of its renewable energy industry. By analyzing Japan’s energy strategy development，this paper studies Japan’s renewable energy policy characteristics and its future path.