Tag - energy

 
 

ENERGY

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2025
Trump baffles with sudden U-turn on China buying Iranian oil
U.S. Treasury and State department officials handling Iranian oil sanctions were surprised by Trump’s statement and uncertain how to immediately interpret it.
The Strait of Hormuz separating Iran (top) from the United Arab Emirates and Oman (bottom) as seen from the International Space Station in 2021. More than half of the oil imported by East Asia passes through the Strait, experts estimate.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 24, 2025
Asian countries most vulnerable to Strait of Hormuz blockade
Japanese customs data showed 95% of crude oil imports last year came from the Middle East.
Protesters, predominantly Houthi supporters, burn Israeli and U.S. flags as they demonstrate in solidarity with Palestinians and Iran, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 23, 2025
How a cornered Iran could wreak havoc on global oil trade
Iran has over the years threatened multiple times to shut the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow stretch of water through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply flows each day.
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.
Mitsubishi could announce a deal to buy the assets of Aethon Energy Management in the next couple of months, sources have said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 17, 2025
Mitsubishi said to be in advanced talks on $8 billion Aethon deal
The Japanese conglomerate could announce a deal with the U.S. energy-focused investment firm in the next couple of months, according to sources.
A 250-meter-long bus stop roof using perovskite solar cells in the city of Osaka
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 13, 2025
Government paper seeks to link next-gen energy tech to business opportunities
The white paper stated that Japanese products are leading the world in terms of their durability and larger sizes, which are key features for commercialization.
Friday's gains were the largest intraday moves for oil futures since 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, causing energy prices to spike.
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2025
Oil soars more than 9% after Israel strikes Iran, rattling investors
Friday's gains were the largest intraday moves for oil futures since 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, causing energy prices to spike.
Jera's LNG agreements with U.S. suppliers bolster Japan’s role as the world’s second-largest LNG importer, and come as U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing to expand exports of the fuel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 12, 2025
Jera touts 20-year LNG agreements with U.S. suppliers
Japan’s largest power generation company has reached agreements to buy as much as 5.5 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas from U.S. suppliers.
World Bank President Ajay Banga at the Milken Institute Global Conference in California on May 5
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2025
World Bank to end ban on nuclear energy projects, but undecided on upstream gas
The global development bank, which lends at low rates to help countries build everything from flood barriers to railroads, decided in 2013 to stop funding nuclear power projects.
Solar panels in Dunhuang, China. In April alone, China installed about 45 gigawatts of solar power, more than triple the amount in the same month last year.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 11, 2025
China’s solar industry gathers as gloom deepens over demand
The solar industry’s record growth in China masks some brutal economics confronting equipment-makers.
The Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture. Under an amended law, nuclear plants' operating period may be extended beyond 60 years to compensate for stoppages caused by "unforeseeable circumstances."
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2025
Japan law comes into force to extend nuclear plant lifespans
Under the amended law, nuclear plants' operating period may be extended beyond 60 years to compensate for stoppages caused by "unforeseeable circumstances."
The election of Lee Jae-myung signals South Korea’s leftward shift on energy policy, but despite his ambitious renewable plans, deep-rooted regulatory, financial and geographic challenges threaten to stall progress unless reforms are swift and systemic.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2025
South Korea's new president has a chance to clean up
Years of inertia and obstruction of the transition have left the country with a system plagued by high costs and the lowest renewable penetration among developed economies.
A view of high-voltage transmission towers, where the cables were cut and stolen, in Damascus on May 26
WORLD / Politics
Jun 3, 2025
For Syria, Qatar's $7 billion power plan hinges on it fixing its grid
Years of neglect have left the sprawling network of transformer stations and towers stripped as looters continue to steal cables and other components.
The Eagle S oil tanker is seen near a Finnish border guard ship and tugboat off the Porkkalanniemi Peninsula in the Gulf of Finland in December. Finland seized the Russian-linked vessel on suspicion it damaged undersea cables amid growing concerns over sanctions evasion and maritime security.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2025
Braving the storm: It’s time to board Russia’s shadow fleet
European sanctions against the Kremlin’s oil vessels are futile without actual enforcement.
Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for South Korea's Democratic Party, gestures outside a polling station after casting an early vote for the upcoming presidential election, in Seoul on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 2, 2025
South Korea's presidential front-runner backs nuclear power — for now
Lee Jae-myung supports extending the life of existing nuclear plants, but opposes new reactors.
Tugboats assist a liquified natural gas tanker as it docks at a port in Yantai, China, in February. In 2021, China became the largest importer of LNG, and as of this year, China now has the most long-term LNG contracts.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jun 1, 2025
China is eroding Japan's LNG dominance. How does that affect Japanese buyers?
Japanese companies have long held the leading position in the buying and trading of one of the world's key energy sources, but that era of hegemony has come to an end.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline along the Dalton Highway near Stevens Village, Alaska
ASIA PACIFIC
May 31, 2025
Trump officials set for talks with Asia leaders on Alaska energy
Foreign officials from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, India and the United Arab Emirates are expected to be included in the talks.
Pipelines at Jera's thermal power station in Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2025
Japan’s top LNG importer will explore buying from Alaska
Jera, which is also the nation’s largest power producer, inked the nonbinding pact ahead of a summit in the U.S. state next week.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Icelandic President Halla Tomasdottir at the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
May 28, 2025
Ishiba and Tomasdottir agree to deepen cooperation between Japan and Iceland
The Icelandic president said Japan is Iceland's most important partner in Asia, and expressed her eagerness to collaborate on geothermal energy and gender equality.
The Kartini Nuclear Reactor research facility in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The nation is looking to turn to nuclear power to help meet growing energy demand.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / FOCUS
May 27, 2025
Indonesia eyes nuclear option in bid to grow energy and cut emissions
It aims to set up its first small modular reactor by 2032, but challenges including finding a suitable location and a lack of local expertise might present hurdles.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers