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July 12, 2026
 

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ENERGY

Residents at the site of an apartment building damaged during overnight Russian drone and missile strikes, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Jan 31, 2026
Russia and Ukraine halt energy strikes, but differences emerge on moratorium
Moscow said the pause would end Sunday while Kyiv indicated the halt would be in effect for a week.
Koji Okamoto, a professor at the University of Tokyo in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Management, said that modern reactors are designed to effectively shut down even if one rod cannot be reinserted.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 30, 2026
Alarm at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa No. 6 was probably a false alarm
A Fukushima-style meltdown was never a possibility given the reactor’s design.
The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, in Tokyo's 23 wards came to 110.9 in January against the 2020 base of 100, rising for the 53rd consecutive month, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 30, 2026
Tokyo inflation slows to 2 percent in January
The decrease was mainly due to a smaller rise in food prices excluding perishables.
Japan Gas Association leader Takashi Uchida speaks during an interview in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Jan. 15.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2026
Japan Gas Association leader says it’s hard to give up Russian LNG
Securing alternative suppliers will not be easy since Russian LNG has an “economic advantage,” says Takashi Uchida.
Nine regional power utilities announced Thursday that average household electricity bills will rise in February, due to higher liquefied natural gas costs and reduced government subsidies.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2026
Nine of Japan’s 10 regional power utilities to raise bills in February
Kansai Electric Power is the only utility not to raise its bills.
A power generating station in Texas. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Europe has replaced some of its lost Russian gas volumes with U.S. liquefied natural gas.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 28, 2026
EU warns of over-reliance on U.S. gas after Russian phase-out
The comments by the European Union’s competition chief come as U.S. President Donald Trump’s stance on Greenland has the continent on edge.
Wind turbines at the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm, off the coast of the Guerande peninsula in western France, on Oct. 2, 2025
WORLD / Politics
Jan 27, 2026
Northern European nations plan more wind power in bid for energy independence
Hamburg summit comes as Europe not only faces a hostile Russia but also worries about the future strength of transatlantic ties and U.S. designs on Greenland.
The No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings expects to return to profitability in the next fiscal year on the assumption that the reactor is restarted.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 26, 2026
Tepco to make cost cuts of ¥3.1 trillion over 10 years under new business plan
The cost cuts will be achieved through business streamlining, reduced investment and asset sales.
Chubu Electric Power executives apologize during a news conference on Jan. 5 in Nagoya after disclosing that the company might have cherry-picked earthquake data for the Hamaoka nuclear power plant.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2026
Nuclear watchdog begins inspection of Chubu Electric HQ over data fraud
The probe is aimed at uncovering the circumstances surrounding and motives behind the earthquake risk data fraud concerning its Hamaoka nuclear power plant.
A large-scale solar project near Hokkaido's Kushiro Wetlands is driving a surge in land donations to a local environmental trust, as residents try to keep their property out of the hands of developers.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jan 26, 2026
Land donations surge near Kushiro Wetlands amid megasolar controversy
A local environmental trust has seen a large uptick in land donations from residents seeking to keep their property out of developers’ hands.
Employees handle solar wafers at the Tata Power 4.3 GW Solar Cell and Module Manufacturing Plant in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India, in 2024.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jan 26, 2026
India’s solar-panel boom: Full throttle today, uncertain tomorrow
With the twin imperatives of development and lower carbon emissions, India has set itself ambitious renewable energy targets.
Takeyuki Inagaki, the manager of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, speaks on Thursday about the decision to shut down the facility.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Jan 23, 2026
An alarm sounds and Tepco suspends restart at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa 
Just six hours after reactor No. 6 achieved a critical state, it had to be shut down.
An employee works at a solar cells and modules manufacturing facility in India. The nation is electrifying faster than China did when it was at similar levels of economic development, according to a new report from the think tank Ember.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Jan 23, 2026
India is using cheap green tech to electrify faster than China
The nation is electrifying faster and using fewer fossil fuels per capita than China did when it was at similar levels of economic development, a think tank says.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in late 2025. It was briefly restarted on Wednesday after a 13-year shutdown.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 22, 2026
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactor No. 6 shut down due to alarm malfunction
The nuclear power plant, the world’s largest, was just restarted Wednesday after 13 years.
Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in late 2025. One of its seven reactors was switched on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 21, 2026
Tepco restarts reactor at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, world’s largest nuclear plant
The utility had shut down all its nuclear power plants after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
A newly discovered reservoir off the Philippines is estimated to contain around 98 billion cubic feet of gas, equivalent to almost 14 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 19, 2026
Philippine gas discovery extends life of dwindling legacy field
The discovered reservoir is estimated to contain around 2.8 billion cubic meters of gas, equivalent to almost 14 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year.
A solar farm in Nakai, Kanagawa Prefecture, in March 2016. Japan gets about a tenth of its electricity from solar panels despite having nearly no domestic production of photovoltaics (PVs).
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jan 18, 2026
Beijing row highlights need for Japan to reduce cleantech dependence on China
To reach net zero, Japan will need to rapidly expand renewables, but its solar manufacturing capacity is virtually non-existent despite it being a pioneer of the technology.
Mitsubishi said in a statement on Friday that the company agreed to buy Aethon Energy Management’s U.S. gas and pipeline assets for $5.2 billion, the biggest purchase by a Japanese company in the American shale sector.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 16, 2026
Mitsubishi to buy Aethon U.S. gas assets in $5.2 billion deal
Japanese energy companies are looking to expand into U.S. oil and gas following renewed support from President Donald Trump’s administration.
U.S.-Cuba tensions rose after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to stop Venezuelan oil and money from reaching Cuba and suggested the communist-run island to strike a deal with Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 13, 2026
Clock ticks in Cuba as Trump cuts off Venezuelan oil
The question of how long the country can hold out in the face of vastly reduced oil imports is now top of mind for the island’s ‌struggling residents.
A Liberian-flagged oil-chemical tanker sails through Havana Bay as U.S.-Cuba tensions rise after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to stop Venezuelan oil and money from reaching Cuba and suggested the communist-run island to strike a deal with Washington, in Havana on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 12, 2026
Trump vows to cut off Cuba’s oil after toppling Venezuelan ally Maduro
Trump urged Cuba to “make a deal” soon, pledging to cut off all oil and money flowing to the communist-run island.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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