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April 19, 2024
 

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Chisaki Watanabe
For Chisaki Watanabe's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 28, 2018
Battery boom: The future of cars rests with firms that predate the Model T
It took more than seven years for automakers to sell 4 million passenger electric vehicles. It'll take about six months to sell the next million.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 17, 2018
Taro Kono's clean energy critique in UAE speech fuels talk of Abe succession
Criticism by a Cabinet minister of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's energy policies may say more about his own political prospects than it does about the country's debate over clean power.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2017
Japan's green energy incentives cast spotlight on controversial use of palm oil
What started as a way to cut Japan's dependence on imported fossil fuels has led to an expected surge in a different and equally controversial energy source: palm oil.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 6, 2017
82-year-old glassmaker Ohara eyes future in next-generation battery market
Ohara Inc. sees batteries playing a bigger role in its future.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2017
Want hydrogen with your fish? Japan eyes home delivery of clean fuel in rural north
Want a canister of clean energy to go with your basket of carrots and fresh fish?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 30, 2017
Elon Musk's battery demand boom lifts Japan's Tanaka Chemical
As Elon Musk pushes out from his California base to make electric vehicles ubiquitous, a Japanese firm deep in the depths of the battery supply chain is riding his wake.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 10, 2017
Next-generation battery seen powering space projects, cars
Researchers at an Osaka-based firm are closing in on a safer generation of batteries that could weather extreme temperatures in outer space.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2017
Japan's mega-banks vie for top role as backers of clean energy
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are in a neck-and-neck race to be the biggest lead arrangers of lending to the renewable energy industry in the first half of the year, highlighting the more active financing role for Japanese banks in clean energy.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2017
Panasonic cranks up market exposure for home fuel of the future
Panasonic Corp. will begin selling its residential fuel cell systems in the U.K. and Austria this year as it seeks to solidify its lead in a product category that some see as a stepping stone to harnessing hydrogen as the fuel of the future.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 23, 2017
Japanese researchers, firms part of global effort to develop spray-on solar panels
Imagine a future when solar cells can be sprayed or printed onto the windows of skyscrapers or atop sport utility vehicles — and at prices potentially far cheaper than today's silicon-based panels.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2017
Japan makes big push for hydrogen fuel cells scorned by Elon Musk as impractical
Elon Musk may think hydrogen-powered vehicles are rubbish, but Toyota Motor Corp. and a cadre of Japan's leading manufacturers are betting otherwise — and not just on cars.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 1, 2017
J-Power aims to burn more natural gas and wood as Abe fights climate change
Japan's biggest electricity wholesaler knows it will take more than cutting-edge coal technology to save the environment.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2016
Holiday lights burn bright along Meguro River thanks to biodiesel fuel initiative
Organizers of an elaborate midwinter light display running until January along the Meguro River in downtown Tokyo, a popular cherry blossom viewing spot in spring, are going off the grid as a way to limit harm to the environment.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 20, 2016
Startup tests egg-beater-type wind turbine that can resist typhoons on Okinawa
With hurricanes threatening Florida and typhoons lashing Japan, a startup company working on the island of Okinawa is testing a wind turbine that could withstand winds that blow the blades off traditional machines.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2016
Fukushima floating wind farm is Japan's entry into contested sector
Japan's ambition to lead in the development of floating wind turbines is facing stiff competition from rivals in Europe — most notably from France — as companies and governments press to lower costs and prove that the technology can rival other sources of clean energy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2016
Sun no longer shines on Japan's solar boom as subsidies wane
Japan's solar boom is beginning to falter.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 4, 2016
Hitachi Zosen eyes M&A to beef up energy-from-waste business
Hitachi Zosen Corp., a Japanese builder of plants and bridges, is pursuing mergers and acquisitions as it seeks to strengthen its waste-to-energy plant business and expand to South Asia and the Middle East.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2016
First Energy taps biomass in Japan for market-leading gains
A little-known Tokyo-based company's commitment to biomass has made it a darling among investors.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 21, 2016
Hot spring bathing tradition stymies Japan's clean energy ambitions
With centuries of tradition on their side, Japan's hordes of naked bathers remain unmoved by the island nation's bid to tap a rich reserve of power equivalent to about 20 nuclear reactors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2016
Japan unswayed by pressure to end support for coal power
Faced with increasing calls from environmentalists to phase out coal, Japan is standing by its support of the fossil fuel, saying it will help developing countries adopt the best available technologies for coal-fired power plants.
No link to Nankai Trough quake seen after temblor in Shikoku
Satoshi Harada from the Meteorological Agency explains about the magnitude 6.6 earthquake during a news conference early Thursday.
Thousands evacuated as Indonesia volcano erupts
Indonesia's Mount Ruang spews hot lava and smoke as seen from Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on Wednesday.
Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Snake on a train: Discovery of serpent delays Tokyo-Nagoya shinkansen
A Tokaido shinkansen. It is unclear whether the snake was venomous or how it ended up on the train, and there was no injury or panic among passengers.
Sex differences could be key to the successful treatment of long COVID
A new study has found that women with long COVID had significantly lower levels of testosterone compared to those who had recovered from their infection.
'House of the Owl' brings Hollywood values to Japanese TV
In the new Disney+ series “House of the Owl,” Min Tanaka (left) plays a powerful political fixer, or “kuromaku,” who has a troubled relationship with his adult children, particularly his idealistic son, played by Mackenyu.
Benefits and risks: AUKUS looks to take gamble on Japan
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British leader Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
Kyoto’s demon night parade lives to haunt another day
In a Kyoto long past, the "hyakki yagyō" (100 demon night parade) haunted a sleepy corner of Kyoto. Now, one enterprising monster enthusiast has won a small batttle to keep the march alive.
U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on
By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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