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October 10, 2025
 

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ENERGY

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.
The white-tailed eagle's wintering grounds include Hokkaido, northern Honshu, the Russian coast, the southern Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
May 26, 2025
Eagle nest discovery sparks opposition to megasolar project
Groups want to put a stop to the project near eastern Hokkaido's Kushiro Wetlands National Park.
Japan may offer cooperation on shipbuilding expertise and an Alaska natural gas project as part of trade talks with the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 26, 2025
Japan touts ships expertise and LNG investment, with tariff talks key
There is rising momentum in the negotiations as the U.S. tariffs threaten to drag Japan’s economy into a technical recession ahead of the Upper House election.
The Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant, which was shuttered last week, is seen from a beach in Pingtung, southern Taiwan, on April 29.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 26, 2025
Taiwan to hold referendum on restarting closed nuclear reactor
The Aug. 23 poll will decide whether the Maanshan nuclear power plant, shuttered just last week, should resume operations if there are no safety concerns.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Friday. Trump signed orders meant to accelerate the construction of nuclear power plants, including small, untested designs that offer the promise of rapid deployment but have yet to be built in the U.S.
WORLD
May 24, 2025
Trump signs orders to revive U.S. leadership in nuclear power
The order includes accelerating construction of small, untested designs that offer the promise of rapid deployment but haven’t yet been built in the U.S.
The U.S. military’s longstanding dominance is eroding as China exploits its vulnerabilities with cheaper, faster and smarter warfare, demanding urgent American reinvention in energy, logistics and artificial intelligence.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2025
America’s hard power must get harder — quickly
Aircraft carriers and fighter jets look a lot less stealthy in a world of limitless drones and autonomous submarines.
The Dinorwig Power Station is nestled in the mountains of Llanberis, U.K. The power station is hidden away in the North Wales mountains and has been drained down as part of a £1 billion refurbishment program to extend the life of the plant.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
May 20, 2025
The U.K.’s clean power future relies on a 100-year-old technology
For years, water has rushed through Dinorwig’s subterranean tunnels to drive vast power turbines, but the channels currently lie empty — for the first time in four decades.
The rush to electrify everything is reshaping energy, but without addressing demand, grid and supply risks, the green transition may falter.
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2025
It’s electricity realism, not climate denialism
Electrifying everything comes with plenty of risks of its own.
An oil refinery behind Hamadera Park in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture
JAPAN
May 17, 2025
One dead after possible gas leak at Eneos refinery
The company believes they may have inhaled hydrogen sulfide gas, according to informed sources.
Starting in the early 1980s, shipping nuclear waste for storage on Orchid Island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan was standard practice.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
May 16, 2025
Final nuclear plant shutdown leaves Taiwan facing energy crunch
The shutdown takes place just as power demand is projected to rise 13% by the end of the decade, largely driven by data centers and chipmakers.
Solar panels on display at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, China, on April 16
BUSINESS / Tech
May 15, 2025
Rogue communication equipment found in Chinese-made solar power inverters
The rogue components provide undocumented communication channels that could allow security measures to be circumvented remotely, sources said.
Typhoon Halong to cause windstorms, heavy rain and high waves on the Izu islands
Typhoon Halong is moving north near the Izu Islands, with strong winds, high waves and heavy rain expected as it passes early on Thursday, prompting warnings from the weather agency.
Japan to move toward five-year integrated bachelor's-master’s programs
Japan plans to introduce nationwide five-year bachelor's-master's programs to raise graduate school enrollment and train more highly skilled professionals amid a shrinking workforce.
Chemistry Nobel winner Kitagawa says downtime helped him think up new material
Susumu Kitagawa speaks to reporters at Kyoto University on Wednesday after receiving the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry the same day.
After 26 years, Komeito may be showing signs it will break with LDP
Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito (left) and LDP counterpart Sanae Takaichi meet in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Bear injures two in Japan supermarket; man killed in separate attack
A bear seen in security camera footage taken Tuesday inside a supermarket in Numata, Gunma Prefecture
Tokyo named world’s best big city for second straight year
Tokyo was ranked the world's best large city for the second year in a row in the Conde Nast Traveler's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards.
With nuclear sub proposal, Japan faces array of political and tech challenges
The Jingei, the third of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Taigei-class submarines, was commissioned in March last year. It is equipped with lithium-ion batteries, enabling it to have a longer diving time and cruising distance than older models with lead-acid batteries.
OpenAI’s Sora 2 is drowning in Japanese 'AI slop'
OpenAI has rolled out a social app powered by Sora 2, its artificial intelligence video generator, which was quickly flooded with videos featuring iconic Japanese intellectual property.
Trump has his eyes on the prize — but a Nobel win looks unlikely
A protester holds a sign with an image depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and the words "Nobel" written on it, as supporters and family members of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, demonstrate to demand the immediate end of the war and the release of all hostages, outside the U.S. Consulate in Tel Aviv, on Sept. 2.
‘Takaichi trade’ stalls as political reality calls for wait-and-see approach
Tokyo stocks staged a powerful rally on Monday. On Tuesday, they rallied again, then retreated.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?
By Alex K.T. Martin

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