Cognitive-strategic capabilities of a country are decisive for overcoming the strong path dependence in climate-related policies and to achieve ecological and economic modernization. This is the result of a unique comparison approach focusing on four highly intertwined policy areas (Automobiles, Nuclear Energy, Renewables and Rare Earth) in Japan and Germany. Both countries have in principle sufficient economic, technological and institutional capacities for an ecological transformation, but they are lacking an integrated policy strategy to mobilize and organize the existing capacities in favor of structural changes. The focused four policy areas are analyzed in depth and compared by experts from political science. Contents Ecological Modernization Environmental Capacity Building Path Dependence Nuclear Energy Renewables Rare Earth Automobile Policy Environmental Policy in Japan and Germany The Target Groups Lecturers and students in the fields of political and social sciences, environmental/climate/ energy science, economics and business administration Experts in the fields of environmental and energy policy and climate protection The Editors PD Dr. Lutz Mez is Associate Professor at the Department of Political and Social Sciences of Freie Universität Berlin, Germany Dr. Lila Okamura is Associate Professor at the Department of Foreign Languages, Dokkyo University, Japan PD Dr. Helmut Weidner is Associate Professor at the Department of Political and Social Sciences of Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.