Mitsubishi Corp. on Wednesday formally announced it will withdraw from three offshore wind power projects off the coasts of Akita and Chiba, citing a sharp deterioration in profitability. The ventures, secured in a 2021 government tender, were to be developed by a consortium led by Mitsubishi and including a subsidiary of Chubu Electric Power. The group had planned to install 1.76 gigawatts of capacity and start commercial operations between 2028 and 2030, but said construction costs have more than doubled because of global inflation, higher interest rates and a weaker yen. Mitsubishi had already recorded a ¥52.2 billion impairment on the projects and expects any additional losses to be limited, while Chubu Electric forecasts an extra ¥17 billion charge. By abandoning the projects the consortium will forfeit about ¥200 billion in security deposits and be barred from the next offshore wind auction. The move is a setback for Japan’s target of installing 10 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 and is likely to prompt a review of the government’s auction rules, which have been criticised for favouring low bid prices over economic resilience.