Tag - energy

 
 

ENERGY

The joint sustainable fuel initiative was released ahead of COP30, which will be held from Monday in the Brazilian city of Belem.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2025
Japan among countries to target quadrupling sustainable fuel use
Japan and other countries said they will work to quadruple the use of sustainable fuels, such as biofuels and low-carbon hydrogen, by 2035.
Helle Kristoffersen, Asia president of French oil and gas conglomerate TotalEnergies, speaks at a session of the French Japanese Business Summit on Thursday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2025
Japan’s energy import strategy compelling for landlocked European nations
Europe has grappled with energy security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A rapid adoption of solar panels by homeowners in Japan has created new targets for aggressive sales tactics and outright scams.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 6, 2025
Consumer watchdog warns of solar panel inspection scams
The number of homes equipped with solar panels has skyrocketed in recent years, creating new targets for aggressive sales tactics.
Kansai Electric Power will not make a decision on construction based on the results of the survey alone and will take into account profitability and the Nuclear Regulation Authority's regulatory policy, the company's President Nozomu Mori said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 3, 2025
Kansai Electric will soon begin survey for new nuclear reactor, sources say
The survey will mark the first concrete move toward nuclear reactor construction in Japan since the 2011 meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima No. 1 plant.
State-owned giants in China such as Sinopec and PetroChina have canceled some Russian cargoes in the wake of U.S. sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil last month, according to traders.
BUSINESS
Nov 3, 2025
Russian oil finds fewer takers in China after hit from sanctions
The U.S. and its allies are ratcheting up sanctions on both Russian producers and their customers in a bid to stop the war by choking off Moscow’s oil revenues.
Executives of six ruling and opposition parties discuss scrapping the add-on levy for gasoline during their meeting in the parliament building on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2025
Japan sees no stable funding for costly policy plans
Six ruling and opposition parties broadly agreed Friday to scrap the add-on levy for gasoline on Dec. 31 and for gas oil on April 1 next year.
Jera's Hekinan thermal power station in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture. Jera gets about 2 million metric tons of LNG per year from Russia's Sakhalin-2.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2025
Japanese utilities say they can replace Sakhalin-2 if supply interrupted
The United States this month urged Japan, along with other Russian energy buyers, to stop imports as it pushes the Kremlin towards ending the war in Ukraine.
The USS Gravely, a U.S. Navy warship, is seen departing the Port of Spain on Thursday. The U.S. warship arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday for joint exercises near the coast of Venezuela.
WORLD
Oct 31, 2025
As U.S. blows up drug boats, Venezuelan oil continues to flow
“Shadow tankers,” which transport sanctioned or illicit Venezuelan oil, are still coming and going.
Itsunori Onodera, tax chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (right), and Kazuhiko Shigetoku, tax chief of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, speak to reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2025
Japan could scrap gasoline tax surcharge this year, LDP says
The ruling party had considered keeping the surcharge in place at least until mid-January in consideration of the gasoline industry.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reportedly turned down a request from the U.S. to cease imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 30, 2025
Takaichi pushed back on U.S. request to ban Russian gas imports, sources say
Russian LNG accounts for nearly 9% of Japan's total LNG imports, with companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi holding stakes in the Sakhalin-2 project in Russia's Far East.
Solar panels at the Baofeng Agriculture-Photovoltaic Integration Industrial Base near Yinchuan, Ningxia autonomous region, China
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 27, 2025
China’s solar self-discipline spurs turnaround at silicon makers
The recovery saw a 50% surge in polysilicon prices after Beijing began lambasting cutthroat atmosphere in tech sectors such as solar.
New industry minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks during an interview at the ministry on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Oct 24, 2025
Minister eyes stricter regulations on large-scale solar farms
Ryosei Akazawa has pointed out that improperly installed mega solar power plants pose challenges for local communities.
An oil refinery in Russia. Oil prices jumped around 5% to a two-week high after the U.S. imposed sanctions on major Russian suppliers Rosneft and Lukoil.
BUSINESS
Oct 24, 2025
Oil surges 5% after U.S. sanctions Russian firms Rosneft and Lukoil
The U.S. said it was prepared to take further action as it called on Moscow to agree immediately to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Chugoku Electric Power's Shimane nuclear power station in the city of Matsue. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to push for the accelerated revival of nuclear power as an energy source.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 23, 2025
Nuclear power at heart of new prime minister's energy policy
Imported fossil fuels cover 60% to 70% of Japan's electricity generation and are a source of inflation that has undermined support for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
King Bubaraye Dakolo of the Ekpetiama Kingdom in Bayelsa State, southern Nigeria, poses for a photograph in Lagos on Oct. 13.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 22, 2025
'What is the value of a human life?' In Nigeria, oil giant Shell may find out.
Bubaraye Dakolo, the monarch of Ekpetiama in Nigeria, is suing a global oil giant over one of the largest corporate environmental liabilities in history.
Wind turbines along a beach in Happo, Akita Prefecture, in September 2024
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2025
Akita urges quick resale of offshore wind sites after Mitsubishi pulls out
The fledgling offshore wind power industry is grappling with high interest rates and material costs, as well as a pushback against green policies in some countries.
A Hindustan Petroleum oil refinery in Mumbai. Executives at four companies that account for more than 80% of India’s oil-processing capacity say they were caught off guard by U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks that the South Asian nation would halt buying Russian crude.
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2025
India refiners to trim Russia oil buying as Trump sows confusion
India has flip-flopped between defying the U.S. and crimping Russian imports in response to pressure from Washington to cut back.
The Sakhalin-2 project is vital to Japan's energy security as it accounts for about 9% of its LNG imports.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 16, 2025
U.S. expects Japan to stop buying Russian energy, Bessent says
Russia's Sakhalin-2 project remains vital to Japan's energy security as it accounts for about 9% of its liquefied natural gas imports.
Kansai Electric Power plans to carry out geological and other surveys in Mihama, Fukui Prefecture, home to its Mihama nuclear power plant, as groundwork for next-generation reactors.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 15, 2025
Kansai Electric to conduct surveys for new nuclear reactors
The government's renewed push for nuclear power comes amid a surge of new facilities with high electricity consumption, notably data centers and semiconductor plants.
New export restrictions include large-scale lithium-ion batteries used for energy storage as well as cathode and anode materials and battery manufacturing machinery, all technologies where China has a robust global lead.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 13, 2025
China’s new weapon in U.S. trade talks: Batteries
New rules require battery companies to receive licenses from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce before exporting their goods, allowing Beijing to selectively weaponize exports.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes