Tag - energy

 
 

ENERGY

Consumer prices excluding fresh food in the capital rose 2.2% in February from a year earlier, the internal affairs ministry said Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 28, 2025
Tokyo inflation slows slightly more than expected on subsidy impact
Consumer prices excluding fresh food in the capital rose 2.2% in February from a year earlier, according to the internal affairs ministry.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture, on Nov. 1, 2022
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2025
Tepco's antiterrorism facility completion delayed at Niigata nuclear plant
The completion date will be pushed back significantly to August 2029.
The government will oblige some companies, particularly those in high-emitting industries including steelmaking, to participate in an emissions trading system to be introduced in fiscal 2026.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Feb 26, 2025
Japan adopts bill obliging firms' participation in emissions trading
Companies that emit at least 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year will be required to participate in the country's carbon emissions trading system.
A liquefied natural gas plant operated by Sakhalin Energy is seen at Prigorodnoye on the Pacific island of Sakhalin, Russia, in July 2021.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 24, 2025
Three years into Ukraine war, Japan struggles to ensure steady LNG supply
Fierce global competition for liquefied natural gas has led to spikes in electricity and gas bills, which heavily weigh on the finances of Japanese households.
The coal-powered Datang International Zhangjiakou Power Station in Zhangjiakou, in China's northern Hebei province. Many countries support an an aggressive approach to climate change, but face objections by some oil producers and major polluters with rising emissions, such as India and China.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 24, 2025
Nations at odds over major U.N. climate science report
Many countries support an an aggressive approach to climate change, but face objections by some oil producers and major polluters.
Ancient trees and animals play crucial roles in ecosystems, carbon storage and even human health, yet their populations are dwindling due to deforestation, fishing and climate change.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2025
Who will speak for the trees?
A slew of scientific discoveries shows why we should protect not just 1,000-year-old trees but also 200-year-old whales, 400-year-old fish and 10,000-year-old sea sponges.
Japan is the world's No. 2 LNG buyer, a major investor in energy infrastructure and a trading hub with a glut of LNG that could help open new markets for U.S. gas in Southeast Asia.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 22, 2025
Trump seeks to reshape Asia's energy supplies with U.S. gas
While the Alaska LNG proposal faces hurdles, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and others are buying into the idea of increasing U.S. gas imports more broadly.
Japan’s biggest nuclear power plant, the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, is ready to restart but needs a green light from the local governor.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2025
The revival of Japan’s biggest nuclear plant faces its last hurdle
If the restart is approved, the nuclear power plant could start producing power within the following month.
A gasoline blend containing bioethanol is sold at a gas station in Illinois in December. The United States and Brazil are keen to expand exports of bioethanol to Japan.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 19, 2025
With 2050 net-zero goal on horizon, momentum builds for biofuel in Japan
Experts hope the increasing push for use of biofuels in gasoline-powered vehicles may help shift public awareness on environmental issues.
The government has made a shift toward nuclear amid predictions of higher electricity demand stemming from semiconductor production and data centers for AI in the decades to come.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2025
Japan backs nuclear power in climate plan criticized as insufficient
The government is targeting emissions cuts of 60% by fiscal 2035, but environmental groups and businesses have called for more ambition.
Canada faces a tough decision on how to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's economic threats, particularly regarding energy exports, with options ranging from strategic energy cuts to export taxes.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2025
Weaponizing Canadian oil would rattle Trump
Reducing crude output has the potential to inflict real pain on U.S. refiners and consumers.
Oil tanker trucks outside an oil refinery in Mumbai
WORLD / Politics
Feb 13, 2025
India scrambles for Russian oil supplies as sellers play sanctions whack-a-mole
Energy executives say existing networks are being reconfigured with selling entities, tankers and insurance providers that are not on Washington’s blacklist.
Oil pump jacks in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, on June 4, 2023
WORLD / Politics
Feb 13, 2025
Russia braces for oil output cuts as sanctions and drones hit
The level of complexity involved in refining and selling Russian oil is said to be becoming too much, with everyone "waiting for this war to be over."
U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the White House in Washington on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 10, 2025
Ishiba builds inroads with Trump, but challenges still loom
Ishiba won praise for his deft handling of Trump, squelching critics’ predictions that the president would walk all over the bookish Japanese leader.
Latvia's Minister for Climate and Energy Kaspars Melnis (left) and Rolands Irklis, CEO of electricity transmission state system operator AST, pose with a severed cable after technicians worked on the disconnection of the major power line between Latvia and Russia in Vilaka, Latvia, near the Russian border on Saturday.
WORLD
Feb 9, 2025
Baltic nations disconnect from Russian power grid ahead of linking with EU
The Baltic states have disconnected from Russia's power grid and will synchronize with the EU's system, marking a major step toward energy independence and security.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 8, 2025
Trump targets U.S. trade deficit in first meeting with Ishiba
The two leaders pledged to pursue a "new golden age" of U.S.-Japan relations — though Ishiba did get an earful about America's trade deficit with its ally.
Trading company Mitsui
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2025
Japan's Mitsui could study Alaska LNG project, but no decision yet
Japan is considering offering support for a $44-billion gas pipeline in Alaska as it seeks to court U.S. President Donald Trump and forestall potential trade friction.
Visitors attend the Myanmar Power and Solar Energy Storage Expo 2025 in Yangon on Jan. 10. Power outages are common across Yangon, a result of rolling blackouts scheduled by the country's junta government.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 2, 2025
Seeking light in dark times four years after Myanmar coup
The country has fossil fuel reserves and strong potential for renewables but is crippled by instability, investor flight, a lack of infrastructure and other problems.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an 'Unleashing American Energy' event at the Department of Energy in Washington in June 2017.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2025
Japan weighs Alaska LNG pipeline pledge to win Trump's favor
President Trump may raise the project when he meets Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for the first time in Washington as soon as next week.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.