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December 31, 2024
 

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Yuka Obayashi
Japan aims to accelerate offshore wind development as part of its decarbonization strategy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 24, 2024
Japan selects two groups for third offshore wind power round
The country aims to accelerate offshore wind development as part of its decarbonization strategy.
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.
Ukraine risks losing all Russian land it seized within months, U.S. says
Ukrainian soldiers carry the coffins of three comrades killed in recent fighting in eastern Ukraine during their funeral in the western city of Lviv on Dec. 20.
Japanese Princess Kako turns 30
As an adult member of the Imperial Family, Princess Kako has performed various official duties at home and abroad this year.
South Korea's worst plane crash in decades leaves 179 dead
Rescue personnel are seen near the tail section of a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 series aircraft after the plane crashed and burst into flames at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, on Sunday.
U.S. military coordination unit eyed in central Tokyo
A Self-Defense Forces soldier from a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile unit takes part in a drill at Yokota Air Base in Fussa, western Tokyo, in August 2017.
Japan’s weather in 2024: Record temperatures hurt people’s health and wallets
People cover themselves with umbrellas during a hot summer day in Tokyo's Ginza district in August. Temperatures shot up in early July, even before the official end of the rainy season, and the high temperatures persisted well into the fall.
How Hokkaido quietly became a culinary treasure trove in 2024
The central Hokkaido city of Asahikawa made headlines this year when one of its suburbs was named as the best place to live in Japan — a ranking earned in part due to the community's many outstanding restaurants and cafes.
Bling-Bang, baby: The J-pop soundtrack of 2024
Hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts' uptempo “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” quickly became a TikTok favorite after its release days into 2024, which helped turn the song into a Billboard Japan Hot 100 topper for 19 weeks before rising up viral streaming charts around the world.
Shohei Ohtani ends blockbuster year with baby announcement
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8.
Flu cases surge above ‘warning’ levels in much of Japan
Authorities are calling for utmost vigilance as Japan heads into the New Year holiday season, when many people plan getaways.

Podcast

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

Longform

Members of the Wajima City Morning Market Association pose for a group photograph on the site where the market once stood.
In the wake of disaster, the revival of Wajima's market brings hope
By Alex K.T. Martin

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