Tag - meti

 
 

METI

Wind turbines stand next to solar panels at a solar plant in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture. Japan's energy plan under a review is expected to call for raising the renewable energy sources in the power mix.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
May 16, 2024
Japan begins review of basic energy plan amid spread of AI
Power demand could expand further if growth in the amount of information processed by advanced AI accelerates.
The Tokyo District Court on Monday sentenced a former industry ministry bureaucrat to 10 years in prison for drugging six women with sleeping pills and then raping or groping them in 2022.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 13, 2024
Ex-METI bureaucrat given 10-year sentence for drugging and raping women
Dai Sato gave six women in Tokyo a beverage mixed with sleeping pills so that they wouldn't be able to resist his advances.
Counterfeit credit cards at the Osaka Prefectural Police Department in November
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 10, 2024
Illicit credit card use damage hits record high in Japan
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry aims to strengthen measures to prevent such damage.
Japan aims to have 10 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power projects by 2030 and up to 45 GW by 2040, to replace fossil fuels including coal and liquefied natural gas in its energy mix — for which floating offshore wind is essential.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 13, 2024
Japan to expand offshore wind development to exclusive economic zones
Global energy companies have been urging Japan to make investments more attractive, amid soaring costs and growing competition between suppliers.
TSMC's new factory in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2024
Japan in the midst of a semiconductor plant construction rush
The government set aside ¥4 trillion between fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2023 for subsidies for helping companies build semiconductor plants.
The government will extend subsidies worth as much as ¥242.9 billion for Kioxia and Western Digital to expand memory chip production in Mie and Iwate prefectures.
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 6, 2024
Japan extends subsidies to downturn-hit Kioxia and Western Digital
The funding provides underpinning for the two companies, which have been hammered by a slump in the market for NAND flash chips.
People take shelter in the Khreshchatyk metro station during an air strike alarm in Kyiv on Thursday amid the Russia invasion of Ukraine.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2023
Japan expands sanctions over Russia's Ukraine invasion
Tokyo added to its sanctions list 57 organizations in Russia and six others in countries.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has been meeting with Japanese buyers, as well as overseas suppliers, to urge the signing of more long-term LNG contracts.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 21, 2023
Japan urges LNG buyers to sign long-term deals for fuel security
The push is meant to insulate Japan from future supply shocks, as well as potentially harsher sanctions against Russian fuel exports.
JERA's coal-fired power plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, is under construction in 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Oct 22, 2023
Japan sticks with climate solution that critics say is far from clean
The government hopes to use ammonia on a massive scale to reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants, but environmentalists remain skeptical.
Japan has doubled its target for the installation of electric vehicle charging outlets to 300,000 outlets by 2030.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 19, 2023
Industry ministry doubles target for EV charger installments
The aim is to accelerate installments so that Japan can achieve its target of having electrified vehicles account for 100% of its new car sales by 2035.
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2023
Industry ministry sees LNG stocks recovering toward winter
LNG stocks have been declining since May as a long, hot summer boosted the use of air-conditioners, lifting demand for power and fuels.
JAPAN / Explainer
Aug 24, 2023
A closer look at the Fukushima water discharge plan
The IAEA, the Japanese government and many nuclear experts say this process is safe and consistent with what other countries are doing.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2023
Japan to strengthen resources diplomacy with Africa
Japanese companies have been falling behind foreign rivals in launching resources development projects in Africa.
Storage tanks for radioactive water at Tokyo Electric Power Co's tsunami-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2023
No change in plan to release treated water, minister says
Japan's industry minister says there is no change to plan to start releasing treated water from Fukushima nuclear plant this summer.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 11, 2023
Japan's supreme court makes landmark decision on transgender rights
In the first Supreme Court decision over bathroom usage by sexual minorities, the body ruled it was unlawful to restrict the use of bathrooms by a transgender woman at the economy ministry.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 9, 2023
Little progress on laws over gun-making sites a year after Abe's death
Japan has made little progress in regulating online videos and websites showing how to make guns and explosives a year after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 16, 2023
Japan's top court holds hearing on transgender woman’s bathroom restrictions
The resulting ruling on the case, which will mark the first time the Supreme Court has weighed in on the working environment for sexual minorities, is expected on July 11.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2023
Some Japanese utilities may see price hikes delayed until after April
At a meeting Friday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura to conduct 'strict and careful screenings' of the applications for price hikes.
BUSINESS
Feb 1, 2023
The British offshore wind firm hoping to win big on Japan’s 'trump card'
As more overseas companies arrive in the Asia Pacific in search of opportunities in the renewables industry, one U.K. firm sees Japan as the ideal base for regional growth.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 15, 2023
Efforts to commercialize carbon capture tech accelerating in Japan
The industry ministry is set to draw up a road map including measures to help promote the use of such tech, believing that it is essential for realizing net-zero emissions by 2050.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji