Publication date: Feb 24, 2026
Power Futures Trading Climbs to 96% of Spot Volumes
In January 2026, trading volumes in Japan’s electricity futures market nearly matched the size of the spot market. The combined futures trading volume of the European Energy eXchange (EEX) and the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) under Japan Exchange Group (JPX) reached approximately 24.6 TWh in January 2026, more than doubling year on year. This volume amounted to 96.4% of the monthly spot trading volume on the Japan Electric Power eXchange (JEPX), which stood at 25.5 TWh in the same month, making the two markets almost the same size.
In January 2023, futures trading accounted for only 4.5% of JEPX spot market volumes. However, over the past years, participation by both domestic and overseas players has increased, and as of the end of 2025, 119 participants recorded trading activity (59 Japanese firms), up 30 from the previous year (EEX). New product listings, such as fiscal-year products and rising hedging demand from electricity utilities seeking to manage price volatility risks have driven the sharp expansion in trading volumes.
JPX also recently announced that its spot–futures linkage service “JJ-Link”, bridging JEPX and TOCOM, will establish a one-stop framework covering everything from futures trading to bidding in the spot market by around August 2026 to facilitate smoother integration of futures and spot transactions.
🔍 Shulman Commentary: Futures volumes approaching spot levels suggest Japan’s power market is entering a more mature phase, with better price discovery, stronger risk-management tools, and rising international participation. Watch next to see if trading activity at TOCOM starts to increase, particularly as JPX advances its JJ-Link framework to streamline futures and spot trading.
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