Energy crisis slams Japan as weak yen sends import costs surging

The slump in the yen, the war in Ukraine and a heat wave in Tokyo are pushing the world’s third-biggest economy toward a full-blown energy crisis.

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 to its lowest level in two decades.