Business Feb 21, 2020
Japan's curbs on foreign ownership to cover 12 sectors, sources say
The government’s final plan to tighten scrutiny of foreign investment will affect about 400 to 500 listed Japanese firms, sources say.
Business / Corporate Feb 19, 2020
Shift to cleaner power sparks landmark green bond sale in Japan
by Ayai Tomisawa and Rie Morita
In the gusty northeast, a power company is looking to fund offshore wind projects with a landmark sale of green bonds that seeks to muscle in on the growing pool of money available for environmentally friendly investments. Tohoku Electric Power Co. plans to price what ...
National Jan 29, 2020
Kepco to halt two nuclear reactors after missing counterterrorism deadline
Kansai Electric Power Co. said Wednesday it would suspend operations at two nuclear reactors after missing a deadline set by the industry regulator to build counterterrorism facilities. Under stricter rules implemented after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, utilities are now required to build emergency off-site control ...
National / Crime & Legal Jan 27, 2020
Shikoku Electric won't appeal injunction over Ikata nuclear plant, for now
Shikoku Electric Power Co. said it won't appeal a high court injunction against operating the No. 3 reactor at its Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime Prefecture, at least for the time being. "It is not the right time to appeal the injunction," Shikoku Electric ...
National Jan 27, 2020
Japan begins second removal of spent MOX fuel from nuclear reactor
Operations have begun to remove a rare type of spent fuel made of plutonium-uranium mixed oxide from a nuclear reactor in central Japan, operator Kansai Electric Power Co. said Monday. The removal of MOX fuel rods from the No. 3 reactor at the Takahama nuclear ...
Business / Corporate Jan 27, 2020
A new type of bond could help Japan's utilities cut emissions
by Ayai Tomisawa
Japanese power producers have been emitting more carbon dioxide since the 2011 nuclear disaster led to an increased reliance on fossil fuels, but a new kind of bond could help them reverse that trend. So-called transition bonds can pay for not-so-green companies to move toward ...
National Jan 23, 2020
Mayor of Saga town that hosts nuclear plant admits he got cash from firm tied to Kepco scandal
Shintaro Wakiyama said that the money was received days after he was elected, in July 2018, from a then executive of Shiohama Industry Corp.
National Jan 17, 2020
Shikoku Electric again ordered to halt Ikata nuclear reactor over volcano risk
The court said the utility’s preparations for eruptions that could endanger the plant were inadequate despite claims it would have plenty of advance warning.
Business / Corporate Dec 26, 2019
Some Kyushu Electric coal ships to use LNG, cutting emissions by 20%
Kyushu Electric Power Co. will start using vessels powered by liquefied natural gas to transport coal for thermal power generation, resulting in reduced carbon emissions from shipping. The utility said Wednesday that Nippon Yusen K.K. and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. will separately order the LNG-burning ...
National Dec 18, 2019
Family to seek damages over suicide of Mitsubishi Electric recruit after series of deaths at firm
The bereaved family of a Mitsubishi Electric Corp. recruit who killed himself in August will claim workers' compensation and file a damages lawsuit against the company, as they believe the suicide was the result of verbal abuse from a superior, their lawyers said Wednesday. The ...
Business Dec 18, 2019
California's Pacific Gas and Electric to pay $1.7 billion over wildfires
A California energy supplier has reached a nearly $1.7 billion settlement with regulators for its role in causing devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018 that killed more than 100 people in total. Faulty Pacific Gas and Electric power lines were blamed for sparking last year's ...
National Dec 13, 2019
Shikoku Electric to remove fuel from Ikata nuclear reactor, a first since MOX work began in 1997
Shikoku Electric Power Co. said Thursday that it will suspend operations of the No. 3 reactor at its Ikata nuclear power plant on Dec. 26 for routine checkups and remove spent mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel from the reactor. This will mark the first removal of used ...