author

 
Menu
Search
 
December 21, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Yuka Obayashi
A liquefied natural gas plant operated by Sakhalin Energy in Sakhalin, Russia. Japan, the world's second biggest LNG buyer, depends on Russia for 9% of its LNG.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 12, 2024
Rival supplies and depleting fields give Japan an exit from Russian gas
Japan, the world's second-biggest liquefied natural gas buyer, depends on Russia for 9% of its LNG.
If the deal goes through, the Japanese steelmaker has promised not to transfer any U.S. Steel production capacity or jobs outside the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 5, 2024
Nippon Steel committed to U.S. Steel takeover, executive says
"There is no global strategy without the U.S.," Takahiro Mori, the Japanese company's vice chairman, said this week.
U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works facility in Clairton, Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 8, 2024
Nippon Steel seeks to close U.S. Steel deal before Trump is president
Before the Nov. 5 election, which handed him victory, Donald Trump promised to block the deal if reelected.
Equinor's bid underscores the focus some wind players are putting on Japan even as they scale back elsewhere.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2024
Norway's Equinor tries again for a Japan offshore wind lease, sources say
A latecomer to offshore wind, Japan wants to build up to 45 gigawatts of capacity by 2040, which would make it a top-five offshore wind market.
Nippon Steel headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2024
Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel send letter to Biden on merger plans
A spokesperson did not provide details about the letter's content, but said it was signed by the chief executives of both steelmakers.
The government is considering financial support for liquefied natural gas operators to secure storage tanks in Japan and abroad.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Sep 12, 2024
Japan considers company support measures for long-term LNG contracts
Possible measures included financial support for securing storage tank and a new program to assist LNG buyers committing to long-term contracts.
Nippon Steel Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 30, 2024
Nippon Steel, peers urge Tokyo to curb steel imports from China
China's steel exports rose 24% to 53.4 million tons in the first half of 2024, on track for 100 million tons for the year.
Itochu is buying back ¥150 billion worth of its own shares.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 6, 2024
Itochu to buy back shares and take full control of apparel and chemicals units
The deals are part of a trend of dissolving dual listings of parent and subsidiary companies to enhance corporate governance and improve operational efficiency.
Nippon Steel Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori holds a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 4, 2024
Nippon Steel raises full-year profit forecast, confident on U.S. Steel deal
Net profit in April-June, its first quarter, fell 11% from a year earlier to ¥157.6 billion, but exceeded analyst expectations of ¥108.7 billion as per LSEG data.
Jera reported ¥93.4 billion in profit for the April-June quarter, down 48% from the year-before period.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 1, 2024
JERA's April-June profit halves; Taketoyo plant remains shut
The 1,070-megawatt (MW) Taketoyo power station in Aichi Prefecture has been shut since it was hit by a fire on Jan. 31.
The No. 4 and No. 5 units of Jera's Hekinan thermal power station in Aichi Prefecture on March 13
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2024
Jera ends ammonia co-firing trial with positive results
The firm said that nitrogen oxides levels were no higher than when firing coal alone.
Sumitomo says it is aiming to install 500 megawatts or more of battery storage in Japan by March 2031.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 5, 2024
Sumitomo aims to install 500 MW of battery storage in Japan by 2031
The initiative is part of the trading house's broader efforts to bolster its energy transformation business.
Energy companies are increasingly calling for greater use of nuclear power as geopolitical tensions raise the risk of energy supply disruptions and power price hikes.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2024
In Japan, energy security fears put nuclear back in favor for 2040 plan
The Japanese government wants to lock in greater use of nuclear energy, along with wind and solar power, to secure stable energy supply.
Tokyo Gas storage tanks in Tokyo. The firm is looking to add more U.S. natural gas assets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 3, 2024
Tokyo Gas seeks more U.S. natural gas assets, president says
Japan's top city gas supplier is aiming to expand its gas-related businesses in North America after its recent acquisition of a U.S. shale gas producer.
Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel would give it greater access to the profitable U.S. market and further its long-term financial goals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 3, 2024
Nippon Steel's Mori hints at selling some assets to aid U.S. Steel deal
The firm's vice chairman plans to return to the United States this week for more talks over the proposed acquisition.
Steelmakers' concerns about BHP's coking coal market power could derail a deal between BHP and Anglo American.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 10, 2024
BHP-Anglo American deal raises alarm in Japan's steel industry
Australia is the world's biggest exporter of coking coal and top supplier to Japan, making up around 60% of its imports.
The United States Steel's plant in Braddock, Pennsylvania. Nippon Steel is sticking to its plan to close a deal by year-end to buy U.S. Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2024
Japan's Nippon Steel sticks to plan to close U.S. Steel deal by year-end
The takeover should bring Nippon Steel's global crude steel capacity to 86 million tons per year, close to its goal of 100 million.
JFE's net profit for the year ended March 31 came to ¥197.4 billion ($1.28 billion), just ahead of analysts' average forecast of ¥194.90 billion in an LSEG poll, thanks to higher steel margins.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2024
Japanese steelmaker JFE eyes overseas investments amid slower profit growth
The country's No. 2 steelmaker plans to ramp up overseas investments as part of a long-term drive to double profits.
Tadashi Imai, who became Nippon Steel's new president on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2024
Nippon Steel emphasizes its roots in the U.S. as it pursues deal
The Japanese firm has agreed to buy U.S. Steel for roughly $15 billion but the deal faces an uphill battle to approval in a U.S. election year.
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.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
43-year-old man arrested over Kitakyushu McDonald's stabbings
A McDonald's outlet in Kitakyushu where two teens were stabbed, one fatally, on Saturday. Police arrested a 43-year-old suspect on Thursday morning.
National Police Agency panel calls for stricter rules against host clubs
The streets of Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district in 2020. Consultations over matters relating to host clubs have been increasing every year at police stations nationwide, according to the National Police Agency.
Nippon Steel to join iron ore mine project in Canada
Nippon Steel headquarters in Tokyo
Bank of Japan opts for caution as Trump factor and wage concerns weigh
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda holds a news conference after a BOJ policy meeting in Tokyo on Thursday.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
With rare Asia carrier deployment, France seeks greater interoperability
The flight deck of the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during a stop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in May 2019
Taiwan’s bullet train a testament to shinkansen’s export potential
A Taiwan High Speed Rail bullet train arrives at Nangang Station in the city of Taipei.
Looking for ways to be charitable in Japan? Give the gift of reading.
Book Santa is a program that delivers books to children in need for Christmas, but it also operates year-round.

Podcast

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

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER