Tag - energy

 
 

ENERGY

Boring tests will be conducted in two areas near the No. 3 reactor at Kansai Electric Power's Mihama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture to look into ground hardness, ahead of the planned construction of a new nuclear reactor.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2025
Kansai Electric to complete survey for new nuclear reactor in 2030
A final decision on whether to build the new reactor will be made after a detailed survey to examine the impact of earthquakes.
The coal-fired Hunter Power Plant in Castle Dale, Utah in 2024. A former U.S. climate envoy says President Donald Trump is leading the world "in the wrong direction" on climate and weaponizing clean energy as a culture war issue.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 18, 2025
Ex-U.S. climate envoy: Trump threatening 'consensus science' worldwide
John Podesta, former U.S. President Joe Biden's senior point person on international climate policy, testified in a case challenging the administration's fossil fuel agenda.
The CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk, an oceanographic science vessel and summer-rated icebreaker, under construction at Seaspan Shipyards
WORLD
Sep 17, 2025
Nations aiming for Arctic power can’t get enough of these ships
Thawing of the top of the world from climate change has stirred a global competition to forge new, previously unnavigable shipping routes.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato takes part in an online meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers on Friday.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2025
Japan pushes back on U.S. call for tariff hikes over Russian oil
Tokyo is cautious about joining efforts to raise tariffs on countries trading with Russia as Japan itself has continued importing LNG from its neighbor.
The Sarawak Energy logo at an electric vehicle charging station in Kuching on the island of Borneo. Malaysia's verdant, river-crossed state of Sarawak is charging ahead with plans to become a regional "green battery," but its renewable energy dreams could come at serious environmental cost, experts warn.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 16, 2025
Malaysia's largest island state aims to be region's 'green battery'
Sarawak's many rivers and streams offer potentially abundant hydroelectricity, but experts warn of a serious environmental cost.
Industry minister Yoji Muto speaks during a news conference on Monday in Osaka.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2025
Countries vow to quadruple the use of sustainable fuels by 2035
Biofuels are expected to contribute to carbon reductions as plants used as their raw materials absorb carbon dioxide while growing.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at the White House in Washington on Sunday. Trump is scheduled to arrive in Britain on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 15, 2025
U.S.-U.K. nuclear pact to precede tech and whisky deals on Trump visit
Both countries will use each other’s safety assessments of reactor designs to fast-track their own checks under the new agreement.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends a news conference during a NATO summit in The Hague in June.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 14, 2025
Trump presses NATO nations to halt Russian oil purchases
In recent weeks, the U.S. has stepped up pressure on NATO countries to tighten energy sanctions on Russia in a bid to help end its war with Ukraine.
Oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk, Russia, in July.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Japan expands sanctions against Russia
Tokyo will freeze the assets of 14 individuals and 51 organizations, including Russian officials, company executives and pro-Russian figures in Ukraine.
A Mitsubishi-led consortium had planned to construct offshore wind turbines with a combined output of about 1.7 million kilowatts of electricity in three areas off Akita and Chiba prefectures.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025
Government reviews Mitsubishi-led group's exit from offshore power projects
Noting construction costs would more than double from the initial estimate, Mitsubishi and Chubu Electric announced the consortium's pullout from the projects last month.
Eight companies are suspected of maintaining or raising prices of diesel fuel sold in Tokyo to transportation and other companies.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 10, 2025
Eight companies raided in Japan over diesel fuel cartel
According to the sources, the firms are suspected of maintaining or raising prices of diesel sold in Tokyo to transportation and other companies.
Elliott Investment Management has acquired a stake in Japanese regional utility Kansai Electric Power, according to a person familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 10, 2025
Activist fund Elliott reported to take stake in Kansai Electric, eyeing assets
Activist hedge funds have been honing in on property held by Japanese companies valued at its original cost on their balance sheets as part of their investment strategy.
Heliostat mirrors at the site of Dunhuang Shouhang 100MW Tower Solar Thermal Power Generation Project in Gansu province, China, on Oct. 16, 2024
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 10, 2025
China’s green tech firms pour billions into overseas factories
Chinese companies are expanding their supply chains abroad to capture new markets, avoid tariffs and get closer to sources of raw materials, according to new research.
Japan has hired energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie to assess a proposed $44 billion Alaska gas pipeline and LNG project backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, sources say.
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2025
Japan hires Wood Mackenzie to assess Trump-backed Alaska LNG project: sources
The scope and cost of the deal with Wood Mackenzie is unclear, as is whether any resulting report will be made public.
NASA says its satellite imagery shows the Earth is becoming drier — at least the parts where most people live.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2025
The Earth is drying out and we need to act urgently
Measurements from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites suggest the continents have been losing fresh water at an alarming rate since 2002.
Masahiro Sakurai (left), mayor of Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings President Tomoaki Kobayakawa in the city on Thursday
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2025
Tepco eyes earlier decision on Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear reactors
Tepco had planned to decide whether to decommission the No. 1 to No. 5 reactors "within two years" after reactivating the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors.
Bob Mumgaard, CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, says the U.S. firm wants to deploy a reactor in Japan in the late 2030s or early 2040s.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 4, 2025
Nvidia-backed U.S. atomic fusion firm eyes reactor in Japan
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which raised $863 million from investors including Nvidia, said it has been in talks with Japanese government officials on the use of its technology.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi speaks during an interview in Vienna on Wednesday.
WORLD
Sep 4, 2025
U.N. nuclear chief presses Iran to strike deal on inspections soon
"It would be really good if we could have this agreed before next week," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in an interview.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba meets with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, in Tokyo on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 3, 2025
Can India and Japan deliver on their energy agenda?
As geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific shifts, energy has become central to how India and Japan define their partnership.
A group of 12 Japanese companies has invested in U.S.-based fusion energy startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2025
12 Japanese firms invest in U.S. fusion energy startup
The consortium aims to commercialize nuclear fusion power generation in Japan at an early date by acquiring technical knowledge through the investment.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’