Tag - energy

 
 

ENERGY

Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2018
Ibaraki nuclear plant used erroneous fuel rod data for over 40 years, utility says
For more than 40 years, Japan Atomic Power Co. used erroneous data regarding the location of nuclear fuel rods within the reactor at its Tokai No. 2 power plant in Ibaraki Prefecture, the company has said.
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2018
Revamping the nation's basic energy plan
The government's basic energy plan, established in 2014, should be subject to a major overhaul.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 17, 2018
Taro Kono's clean energy critique in UAE speech fuels talk of Abe succession
Criticism by a Cabinet minister of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's energy policies may say more about his own political prospects than it does about the country's debate over clean power.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2018
Blockchain and drones could play a role in Tepco's fight for survival
Shattered by the enormity of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and bleeding customers to nimbler rivals, Tokyo's lumbering, 66-year-old electric-power behemoth has a new strategy for long-term survival: reinventing itself as a cutting-edge innovator.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 15, 2018
In rare dissent, Foreign Minister Taro Kono says Japan's energy policy 'lamentable' at conference on renewables
In a rare expression of dissent, Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Sunday criticized the government's energy policy as "lamentable" and pledged to promote renewable energy sources in line with global trends.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 10, 2018
Junichiro Koizumi-led group pitches bill calling for 'immediate halt' to Japan's reliance on nuclear power
A group advised by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday unveiled details about a bill calling for an "immediate halt" to Japan's reliance on nuclear power to prevent a recurrence of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The group is seeking to submit the bill to an upcoming Diet session in cooperation...
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2018
Kansai Electric denies it plans to ship nuclear waste from Fukui plants to Aomori site
Kansai Electric Power Co. has denied reports earlier this week that it was planning to ship nuclear waste from its Fukui Prefecture plants to the town of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, after the idea was opposed by Mutsu Mayor Soichiro Miyashita.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 6, 2018
Japan spends scant energy on renewables
Dec. 11, 2017, marked the 20th anniversary of the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty signed by 84 countries who committed to limit the release of greenhouse gases, which are considered the cause of global warming. Japan, of course, was one of the signatories, and a Dec. 14 feature in the Asahi Shimbun reviewed...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2018
Tepco looks to tie up with other utilities to perform reactor checks, in order to cut costs
Struggling to recover from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. is considering collaborating with other utilities to conduct regular checks of their nuclear power plants in order to cut costs, sources close to the matter said Wednesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 29, 2017
High-profile climate change cases predicted to make legal splash in 2018
A clutch of high-profile legal cases over responsibility for the effects of climate change will be fought out in courtrooms next year as claims stack up against both governments and some of the world's biggest oil and energy companies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 27, 2017
Japan's nuclear exports carry risks and rewards
A burgeoning nuclear export portfolio carries with it significant risks and responsibilities.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2017
Town of Futaba kicks off radiation cleanup with eye on 2022 revival
Cleanup work kicked off Monday to make radiation-tainted Futaba, one of the towns hosting the meltdown-hit Fukushima No. 1 power plant, habitable again by around spring 2022 under a government-led recovery project.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2017
Kansai Electric decides to scrap two Oi reactors over safety concerns
Kansai Electric Power Co. formally notified the Fukui Prefectural Government on Friday that it will decommission the Oi No. 1 and No. 2 reactors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2017
Kansai Electric to decommission Nos. 1 and 2 reactors at Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture
The decision, expected to be officially endorsed Friday, will bring to 14 the number of reactors earmarked to be scrapped since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2017
Fight over Alaska Arctic drilling has just begun, opponents vow
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, won a decadeslong battle on Wednesday to open part of an Arctic wildlife reserve in her state to oil and gas drilling, but Democratic senators and conservationists vow the war has only begun.
JAPAN / History
Dec 20, 2017
Japan downplayed Chernobyl concerns at G-7 for energy policy's sake, documents show
Eager to maintain its energy policy in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, Japan made sure concerns about nuclear technology were downplayed at the 12th Group of Seven summit it chaired in Tokyo days after the disaster, according to Japanese diplomatic records declassified Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2017
French Tycoon bets nuclear power will make comeback spurred by climate crisis
French tycoon Dominique Louis is doubling down on atomic power, betting that global warming will foster a nuclear renaissance.
BUSINESS
Dec 17, 2017
U.S. renewable energy industry relieved as Republicans keep tax credits
The U.S. renewable energy industry expressed relief after a compromise Republican tax bill released late on Friday preserved key tax credits that had been at risk of being removed, but it raised concerns about a provision that may threaten investment in the sector.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2017
Japan's MOX program faces tough questions as recycling costs balloon for spent atomic fuel
The cost of recycling spent nuclear fuel has surged since Japan began using it in 1999, raising questions about the viability of the reprocessing strategy, it has been learned.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Dec 14, 2017
Government and utilities shaken by high court challenge to public trust in Japan's nuclear authority
Wednesday's ruling by the Hiroshima High Court halting the planned restart of a nuclear reactor in Ehime Prefecture has cast doubt on the judgment of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority — which had approved the restart under stricter post-Fukushima guidelines — shocking the government and utilities...

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals