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Yuka Obayashi
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 2, 2022
Japanese utilities reel — some more than others — as sky-high fuel prices hit earnings
Regional utilities in Kyushu and Kansai fared better than most thanks to their ability to restart nuclear power plants.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Nov 9, 2021
Japan, once a leader on climate, under fire at COP26 over coal use
The country's refusal to sign a pact to phase out the fuel was short-sighted, critics have said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 14, 2021
Japan to open bidding for Akita area offshore wind farm
Thanks to laws introduced in 2019 to encourage wind farm development, the offshore wind power market in Japan is expected to grow.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 8, 2021
France overcomes ROC to win first men's volleyball gold
France beat the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team in the men's volleyball final on Saturday in a sensational five-set match to grab their first Olympic gold medal in the sport.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 3, 2021
China's 'Iron Hammer' ready to defend women's volleyball crown at Tokyo Olympics
Defending gold, however, will not be easy for China, even with Zhu Ting, the 26-year-old ace regarded as one of the best volleyball players of all time.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 24, 2019
How rare earth shocks lifted an upstart Australian mining company
Sprawled across a spent volcano on the remote edge of the Great Victoria Desert in Western Australia, the Mount Weld mine seems a world away from the U.S.-China trade war.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 9, 2018
India's aluminum producers increase sales to Japan amid industry shake-up
Indian aluminum producers including Hindalco Industries and Vedanta Ltd. are boosting sales to Japan as U.S. sanctions against Russia's Rusal and import tariffs shake up traditional supply routes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2018
Japanese companies in driver's seat for Indian bullet train deals
Japanese steel and engineering companies are in the driver's seat to bag major supply contracts for a $17 billion (around ¥1.8 trillion) Indian bullet train, several sources said, undermining a key component of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policy — a push to "Make in India."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2018
Japan sees little chance of oil slick from stricken tanker reaching its coast
Japan sees little chance of the oil spill from a stricken Iranian tanker that sank on Sunday in the East China Sea reaching its shores, an official at the nation's Environment Ministry said on Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2017
Fuel shortage looms as Japan fires up biomass energy
As the sun sets on Japan's solar energy boom, companies and investors are rushing into wood-burning biomass projects to lock in still-high government subsidies.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2017
Heavy reliance on coal is likely to stymie Japan's climate agreement goals
Japan may not achieve its carbon emissions target if an ambitious plan to build more coal-fired power plants moves ahead, the environment minister said, underlining Tokyo's struggle to meet globally agreed goals to halt climate change.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2016
Canada's pampered pigs sate Japan's appetite for pricey pork
On select Canadian farms, thousands of pigs bound for Japan are basking in five-star treatment.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2015
Farming reforms set to test Abe's resolve
After December's landslide re-election, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's program to revive the nation's economy is set to meet perhaps its stiffest challenge, the nation's sclerotic farming industry.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 23, 2014
U.S. calls out Japan on coal plant exports
The United States has challenged the Japanese government over moves to ramp up exports of coal-fired power technology and to offer cheap loans to lure buyers, according to a U.S. source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2014
Corporate blowback builds from Minamata treaty
The Japanese government lobbied hard for a global pact that limits mercury use and to name the resulting treaty after Minamata, the site of a homegrown industrial disaster from the 1950s when the toxic metal poured into a river, poisoning thousands.
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2014
Fukushima No. 1 boss admits plant doesn't have complete control over water problems
The manager of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant admits efforts to control the radioactive water being churned out there are failing because they were planned in haste.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’