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August 25, 2025
 

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Shoko Oda
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 12, 2022
Japan may ask people to cut back on natural gas next
The discussion comes after recent moves by Russia to transfer the rights to the Sakhalin-2 natural gas project to a new company, which could threaten foreign owners including Japanese firms.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 5, 2022
Energy crisis slams Japan as weak yen sends import costs surging
Japan imports about 90% of its energy, mostly priced in dollars, and costs were already soaring from a jump in global oil, gas and coal prices, even before the yen fell.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 23, 2022
Consumers are racking up rewards in Japan by buying green
People can use points earned at certain shops toward things like online purchases, airline mileage points or even, in some cases, investments.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2022
Japan’s discarded kimonos get new life as redesigned casual wear
Now designers are repurposing high-quality fabric from cast off kimonos to make contemporary outfits more suited to today's sensibilities and fashion.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 25, 2022
Japan’s new ‘green economy’ bond may fund nuclear projects
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last week proposed a 'green economy transformation bond” to raise as much as u00a520 trillion to help meet climate goals.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 21, 2022
Electric farms in Japan are using solar power to grow profits and crops
In many respects, Takeshi Magami's farm is like any other in Japan. But one major difference sets it apart from its neighbors: the 2,826 solar panels perched above the crops.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 11, 2022
Investors push Japan’s J-Power to accelerate climate action
Shareholder proposals call on the electricity producer to set new short- and medium-term emissions reduction targets and to disclose details on how to meet those goals.
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2022
Kishida says nuclear power should be reconsidered as energy costs soar
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the country must consider using more nuclear power, as the import-dependent nation grapples with rising fuel prices and a weak yen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2022
An activist fund manager takes aim at Japan’s revolving door
The founder of Strategic Capital is targeting a Tokyo-based provider of loans and securities lending services that he says has a history of appointing former BOJ officials to top positions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2022
Japan's Tepco honing offshore wind bid as competition heats up
Japan is aiming to award 10 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by the end of the decade, spurring a contest for the contracts to build the projects.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2022
China's interest in Shell's Russian gas stake adds impetus for Japan to stay
Exiting Russian LNG projects would force Japan to source replacement fuel from the already tight spot market, threatening to boost prices that are trading near record-high levels.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 6, 2022
Tokyo's energy crisis — a decade in the making
Bloomberg energy reporter Shoko Oda joins Deep Dive to explain why the energy crisis was a decade in the making.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2022
Nuclear power’s growing fan base in Japan faces a reality check
A web of red-tape governing nuclear reactors born from the Fukushima nuclear disaster 11 years ago means that the resumption of operations can't speed up, no matter the political pressure.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 2, 2022
IEA nations agree to join Biden’s massive oil-stock release
The U.S. president said he expects allies in the IEA to agree to release an additional 30 million to 50 million barrels from their own reserves.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2022
Japanese power retailers exiting business as energy crunch worsens
In the last month, at least four companies halted power retail operations, as a surge in wholesale electricity prices makes it challenging to procure stable supply and turn a profit.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Mar 26, 2022
The future of energy will require citizens to make sacrifices. Just ask Tokyo residents.
Not since the late 1970s have governments around the world been under so much pressure to ask their citizens to cut energy consumption for the greater good.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2022
Tokyo power squeeze easing, government says, after residents and businesses cut back
An electricity shortage warning for Tokyo was lifted Wednesday, with solar supplies expected to be more abundant and cold weather subsiding, according to the trade ministry.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2022
Japan’s power crisis was a decade in making and won’t go away
The world's third-largest economy has been running on a thinner supply of electricity since the triple meltdown at Fukushima in March 2011 shut its massive fleet of nuclear reactors.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 25, 2022
Japan’s petrochemical firms need to merge to survive, Mitsubishi Chemical CEO says
Jean-Marc Gilson compared the situation facing the chemical industry to other industries Japan once dominated, such as semiconductors and flat-screen televisions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 18, 2022
Japan’s top power producer seeks long-term clean ammonia deal
Much of ammonia is still produced by burning natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas, but there's anticipation that it could be made from cleaner energy in the future.
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
At meeting rich in symbolism, Ishiba and South Korea's Lee agree to steadily build ties
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shake hands at joint press announcement after summit talks in Tokyo on Saturday.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
Japan to boost support for joint ride-hailing services
Tatsuaki Igarashi, mayor of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, exits a ride-sharing vehicle at Tsukuba Station in January.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Is the LDP’s catch-all approach to politics still effective?
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15. Political commentator Toru Hashimoto has suggested that Takaichi ought to lead a group of like-minded hawkish politicians out of the Liberal Democratic Party and form their own party.
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.
As farm minister, Koizumi is held ‘hostage’ by Ishiba
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi (center) attends a Lower House session on Aug. 1. Locking Koizumi into the Cabinet is Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s way of turning a potential rival into a team player, according to one expert.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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