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August 09, 2026
 

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Yuka Obayashi
Japan's food self-sufficiency ratio, which stood at ?37% in fiscal 2025, has remained below 40% for ?more than a decade despite ?government efforts to boost domestic production of heavily imported crops.
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2026
Japan¡¯s food self-sufficiency ratio falls to 37%, well below 2030 goal of 45%
The ?ratio is among the lowest of developed economies and underscores the country¡¯s vulnerability ?to food supply disruptions amid heightened geopolitical ?tensions.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's industry minister, has asked Australia to increase production of LNG amid the war in the Middle East.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2026
Japan industry ministry asks Australia to boost LNG output amid Iran crisis
Japan relies on the Middle East for around 11% of its LNG imports, with 6% shipped via the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan's drilling-equipped research vessel Chikyu departs from Shimizu port in Shizuoka Prefecture on Monday to conduct a test recovery of mineral-rich mud near Minamitori Island, marking the world¡¯s first attempt to continuously lift rare earth seabed sludge from a depth of about 6 kilometers onto a ship.
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2026
Japan sets sail on rare earth hunt as China tightens supply
A mining ship has departed for a remote coral atoll to probe mud rich in critical minerals ¡ª 6 kilometers deep on the seabed.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture. Tepco plans to restart the first unit of the plant on Jan. 20.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 24, 2025
Tepco pledges safety ahead of restart of world¡¯s biggest nuclear power plant
The company plans to restart the first unit of its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture on Jan. 20, Tepco President Tomiaki ?Kobayakawa says.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings¡¯ Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant stands along the seaside in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2025
Tepco prepares to restart world¡¯s biggest nuclear plant, 15 years after Fukushima
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located about 220 kilometers northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors closed after the 2011 earthquake and ?tsunami crippled the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
Jera's Hekinan thermal power station in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture. Jera gets about 2 million metric tons of LNG per year from Russia's Sakhalin-2.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2025
Japanese utilities say they can replace Sakhalin-2 if supply interrupted
The United States this month urged Japan, along with other Russian energy buyers, to stop imports as it pushes the Kremlin towards ending the war in Ukraine.
Chugoku Electric Power's Shimane nuclear power station in the city of Matsue. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to push for the accelerated revival of nuclear power as an energy source.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 23, 2025
Nuclear power at heart of new prime minister¡¯s energy policy
Imported fossil fuels cover 60% to 70% of Japan¡¯s electricity generation and are a source of inflation that has undermined support for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
An employee at a wholesaler puts a price tag on a package of sea urchins from Hokkaido at Tsukiji Outer Market in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 26, 2025
Warming seas add to food inflation woes as urchin rice bowls hit ?18,000
Policymakers have mostly blamed rising food prices on the weak yen¡¯s upward pressure on import costs, but the effects of global warming now also loom as a risk.
Takahiro Mori, executive vice president of Japan's biggest steelmaker Nippon Steel, speaks about its strategy in its headquarters in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
May 26, 2025
Garage meets and sleepless flights: How Nippon Steel¡¯s negotiator stuck at U.S. merger
With Biden¡¯s incoming successor Donald Trump also voicing opposition to the planned purchase, the outlook was bleak.
A bird flu outbreak in Brazil has prompted Japan to stop importing chicken from the country ¡ª a move that could affect the domestic meat market.
JAPAN
May 19, 2025
Japan halts some poultry imports from Brazil after bird flu outbreak
The ban took effect on Friday after Brazil confirmed its first outbreak of bird flu on a poultry farm.
Officials from the state-run Alaska Gasline Development Corporation and development partner Glenfarne Group want to transport natural gas south from Alaska's remote north via a $44 billion 1,300-kilometer pipeline, to be shipped as liquefied natural gas to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2025
Alaskan officials to seek investors in Japan as Trump touts LNG
Japanese energy firms have yet to commit, with cost being a focal point.
Trading company Mitsui
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2025
Japan¡¯s Mitsui could study Alaska LNG project, but no decision yet
Japan is considering offering support for a $44-billion gas pipeline in Alaska as it seeks to court U.S. President Donald Trump and forestall potential trade friction.
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.
Yen jumps on U.S. data as traders watch for intervention clues
U.S. and Japanese officials have warned investors they¡¯re determined to keep defending the yen if needed.
Japan orders evacuations and cancels 500 flights as Typhoon Dolphin approaches
People cover a roof, damaged by the July 28 earthquake, with a plastic sheet in the town of Hikawa in Kumamoto Prefecture on Thursday to prepare for the approaching typhoon.
Eight dead, including teen suspect¡¯s grandparents, in Thailand shooting
A student is embraced by a relative after being evacuated from Debsirin Nonthaburi School, following a shooting incident at the school, in Bang Kruai district in Nonthaburi province on the outskirts of Bangkok on Friday.
As the Danube hits record lows, every centimeter of river counts
Danube cruise ships moored in Bratislava, on Tuesday. The river level is too low to go back up to Vienna or down to Budapest, the authorities said.
Missile shelter to be built near Tokyo Station amid rising security concerns
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike shakes hands with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a meeting Friday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
How Japan¡¯s racehorses find second careers away from the track
TCC Therapy Park is supported financially by racing organizations as well as donations from members of the public.
Will Takaichi¡¯s consumption tax cut break the LDP?
Despite months of debate, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi failed to gain consensus within the Liberal Democratic Party on a two-year reduction of the consumption tax.
The hidden details that shape professional sumo
A Wanpaku Sumo tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in July 2016
Current permanent residency applications to be judged using new income criteria
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Japan¡¯s earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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