J ©SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ANTON_MEDVEDEV JAPAN HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING A RAPID DEPLOYMENT OF PHOtovoltaics (PVs) since the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) Scheme for Renewable Energy was launched in July 2012. The increasing penetration levels of variable renewable generation, especially PVs and wind, have been affecting power system operations in each of Japan's 10 balancing areas. To accommodate this rapid growth in variable generation, the government established the Working Group on Grid Connection of Renewable Energy in 2014 to continually discuss and make timely decisions about these operational issues, including capacity connections, operation enhancement and asset improvement in each balancing area, and inevitable curtailment procedures for renewable generation. The operation of a power system can be enhanced by the sophisticated dispatch operation of thermal power plants, energy storage plants, and interconnection, Operational Practices and Future Challenges for Renewable Energy as a Major Power Source in Japan Making Renewables Work By Kazuhiko Ogimoto and Hiroshi Wani Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MPE.2020.3014744 Date of current version: 16 October 2020 november/december 2020 1540-7977/20©2020IEEE ieee power & energy magazine 47http://www.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ANTON_MEDVEDEV