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July 08, 2025
 

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Stephen Stapczynski
Orix shares gained as much as 3.6% in Tokyo on Monday, their biggest intraday gain since April 10.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2025
Orix to sell $1.3 billion stake in Greenko to founders
Tokyo-based Orix agreed to transfer a 17.5% holding in Greenko, out of its total ownership of 20%, to AM Green Power.
Workers build a scaffolding platform during construction at the Yamal LNG plant, operated by Novatek, in Sabetta, Russia, in August 2018.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2025
Russia tries again to expand LNG exports upended by sanctions
Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian gas pipeline exports to Europe have dwindled, and shipping more fuel via seaborne LNG tankers provides an attractive revenue stream.
Tokyo Gas is in talks with at least four U.S. liquefied natural gas suppliers to secure a purchase deal, according to sources.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2025
Tokyo gas in talks to seal long-term U.S. LNG purchase deals
Japan’s largest gas distributor is in talks with at least four companies over supply from projects dotting the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to sources.
Japan sees liquefied natural gas as vital to energy security.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2025
Japan seeks gas past 2050, with AI and data centers set to lift demand
The government expects a boom in artificial intelligence, data centers and semiconductor chip-making factories to revive power demand.
Masayuki Omoto, Marubeni president and CEO, in Tokyo on Tuesday. Omoto has affirmed the Japanese trading house’s commitment to a long-term partnership with Berkshire Hathaway, echoing sentiments recently expressed by the U.S. investment firm.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2025
Marubeni aligned with Berkshire Hathaway on long-term value, says top exec
Berkshire has steadily increased its stakes in Japan’s five largest trading houses, with Chairperson Warren Buffett signaling in February that he plans to boost holdings further.
The Tomari nuclear power plant in Tomari, Hokkaido, in March 2024
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025
Japan approves restart of nuclear reactor for first time in four years
The Nuclear Regulation Authority approved a preliminary report saying Hokkaido Electric Power’s Tomari No. 3 reactor meets post-Fukushima safety rules.
Xiaobaodang Coal Mine, in Shaanxi province, China, in 2023. China, which mines and burns half the world’s coal, is facing swelling inventories of the fuel.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 3, 2025
Coal’s four-year lows hide a coming global supply squeeze
Demand for the fuel continues to rise in India and China, outpacing breakneck rates of expansion in solar and wind.
Warren Buffett's plans to increase holdings in Japanese trading houses are seen as a stamp of approval for the undervalued sector.
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 25, 2025
Buffett’s fervor for Japan trading firms sparks share rally
Buffett praised Japan’s trading firms for increasing dividends when appropriate and for being less aggressive in their executive pay than U.S. counterparts.
Government officials and energy executives from countries such as India, Kuwait and Japan have been holding talks about procuring more U.S. gas, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 1, 2025
From India to Japan, specter of Trump tariffs spurs interest in U.S. gas
Trump’s tactics, however, are pushing away some other buyers, like those in China, the world’s top importer.
A worker inspects the outdoor gas pipes at the underground gas storage facility operated by Gas Storage in Haje, Czech Republic, on Jan. 3.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jan 13, 2025
Europe threatens to trigger a global scramble for natural gas
For the first time since the energy crisis was turbocharged by Russia’s war in Ukraine, Europe risks failing to meet its storage targets for next winter.
A Nippon Steel blast furnace building in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Dec. 6
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 14, 2024
Nippon Steel’s plan B now in focus as $14 billion U.S. deal falters
The bid for the once-fabled American company ran into a maelstrom of political opposition in the U.S. in the run-up to the presidential election.
Bulk carriers float offshore from Singapore, on Feb. 19.
WORLD
Sep 19, 2024
The shadow fleet transporting sanctioned gas for Russia
In the short term it could provide some wartime profit, but Moscow's ultimate goal is to triple LNG exports by 2030.
The No. 1 reactor building stands at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.'s Shin-Kori nuclear power plant in Ulsan, South Korea.
BUSINESS
Jul 21, 2024
South Korea edges ahead of rivals to build Europe’s nuclear reactors
A pair of projects in the Czech Republic could set up South Korea to build reactors for Western countries that are reconsidering nuclear energy.
Data has shown that Western pension funds may inadvertently be helping Russian President Vladimir Putin as Moscow looks to ramp up liquefied natural gas exports to replenish Kremlin coffers and fund its war in Ukraine.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 21, 2024
How U.S. pension funds help Putin’s gas gambit
The case spotlights the opacity of the global finance and how hard it remains to sever Moscow from a key revenue source even two years after the Ukraine invasion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin looks through a helicopter window during his flight to the Novatek-Murmansk's Offshore Superfacility Construction Center in the village of Belokamenka, in Russia's Murmansk region, last July.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
May 5, 2024
How Western sanctions are strangling Putin’s Arctic gas ambitions
The Novatek PJSC-led Arctic LNG 2 facility is a key part of Moscow’s plans to boost exports and replenish coffers. But it has remained virtually idled.
The Malaysian state of Sarawak is blessed with the rivers and heavy rainfall needed to create hydropower that can generate clean electricity needed for emissions-free hydrogen.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 20, 2024
Clean hydrogen’s best bet may be a rainforest state in Borneo
The state is hoping an abundance of hydropower can help it defy challenges that are clouding the fuel’s prospects elsewhere.
A Tokyo Gas Co. storage tank at the company's Setagaya facility in Tokyo
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 12, 2024
World trying to quit fossil fuels gets flood of gas instead
Formerly a sluggish sector, global events spurred LNG's expansion
A hydrogen storage tank and loading system at a liquefied hydrogen receiving terminal in Kobe
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 27, 2023
U.K. concerned about Japan’s co-firing plans to curb emissions
The move 'prolongs the life of coal plants and leads to emissions,' said the head of climate change and energy at the British Embassy in Tokyo.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has been meeting with Japanese buyers, as well as overseas suppliers, to urge the signing of more long-term LNG contracts.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2023
Japan urges LNG buyers to sign long-term deals for fuel security
The push is meant to insulate Japan from future supply shocks, as well as potentially harsher sanctions against Russian fuel exports.
A liquefied natural gas tanker is tugged toward a thermal power station in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, in November 2017
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2023
Japan’s dwindling LNG inventories could prompt new purchases
Storage held by Japan’s power suppliers fell to 1.62 million tons as of Sept. 17, according to data compiled by the trade ministry.
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Foreign nationals' presence in Japan emerges as key issue in Upper House poll
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a campaign speech next to a Liberal Democratic Party candidate for the Upper House (top center left) in Yokohama on Sunday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
China’s housing crisis is worse than it seems
Residential buildings under construction in Shanghai in July 2022. The Chinese government risks long-term decline by repeating Japan’s policy mistakes in handling its real estate and demographic crises.
Lawson to let visitors use larger parking lots as paid car campsites
A Lawson convenience store in Yachiyo, Chiba Prefecture. A new service from the company comes amid the rise in inbound tourists, making hotels and inns harder to book and more expensive.
The future is bright inside the visionary mind of architect Sou Fujimoto
The exhibition of Fujimoto’s architecture surveys his career to date, as well as looks ahead as shown in his proposal of a future floating city designed in collaboration with data scientist Hiroaki Miyata.
A tiny mountain hamlet keeps traditional log rafting afloat
Once a way to transport lumber from the mountains to the coast, log rafting is now Kitayama's biggest attraction.
A furever friend: Tips for responsible dog ownership in Japan
Dog ownership may seem daunting in Japan, but with the right tools and logistical knowledge, you can ensure a healthy, happy life for your pet.
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
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