Coal is the primary fossil fuel most used in the world for the electricity generation, iron making, and cement/concrete and chemical production. However, utilization of coal also results in emissions of CO2, SOx, NOx and other noxious compounds. The development of clean coal technology ( CCT) is a main issue to maintain a clean environment. CCT in Japan is considered the highest level in the world. In this review, the developing CCTs in Japan including high efficiency combustion technologies, advanced gasification technologies, CO2 recovery and utilization technologies, and flue gas cleaning technologies are introduced and discussed. It is expected to provide some new view-of-points for CCT development. (C) 2017 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press. All rights reserved.