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May 05, 2026
 

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Katya Golubkova
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who also concurrently serves as president of the Liberal Democratic Party, on Tuesday in Tokyo after a campaign speech for the Lower House election
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 1, 2026
Takaichi talks up weak yen even as Japan works to counter currency decline
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi later ?softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the currency's direction.
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 91²Ö¿â electricity generation and are a source of inflation that has undermined support for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The Sakhalin-2 project is vital to Japan's energy security as it accounts for about 9% of its LNG imports.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 16, 2025
U.S. expects Japan to stop buying Russian energy, Bessent says
Russia's Sakhalin-2 project remains vital to 91²Ö¿â energy security as it accounts for about 9% of its liquefied natural gas imports.
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.
Oil pipelines in Alaska. U.S. President Donald Trump wants Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to join a $44 billion natural gas export project.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2025
Alaska governor to brief Trump on Asia gas push as tariffs bite
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is winding up a trip through Asia where he has been seeking investors and long-term buyers.
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
91²Ö¿â 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.
Nippon Steel's $15 billion bid for U.S. Steel has been referred to U.S. President Joe Biden after a U.S. panel on foreign investments was unable to reach a consensus.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 24, 2024
Nippon Steel's bid for U.S. Steel referred to Biden for final decision
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States referred the bid to the U.S. president after failing to reach a consensus.
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.
A FamilyMart convenience store in Tokyo. Around-the-corner stores iconic to Japan help the trading houses to monetize on their food and apparel businesses.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2024
Food and FamilyMart drive Itochu's half-year profit up 6%
Itochu kept its net profit forecast for the year unchanged at ?880 billion, of which 24% is projected from food, textiles and the division where FamilyMart belongs.
Marubeni's headquarters in Tokyo
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2024
Marubeni-backed salmon farm starts Japan sales as part of diversification push
Wild and sea-farmed salmon is one of the areas Marubeni and its rivals have been targeting in Japan.
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.
Newly appointed industry minister Yoji Muto says there is no change to a government plan to safely restart nuclear power plants.
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2024
Japan to keep nuclear and boost renewables, new industry minister says
Yoji Muto says securing energy will be "the most important part of 91²Ö¿â growth."
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.
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.
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.
Water shortages hit tourist spots in Japan during Golden Week
A hot spring facility in the city of Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, has suspended the operation of its open-air baths since March.
Strong winds disrupt transport during Golden Week
A map on the website of the Japan Meteorological Agency shows advisories and warnings for strong winds across wide areas of Japan through Monday night.
Bankruptcies among Japan¡¯s medical, nursing care providers surge to highest in decades
The surge in bankruptcies among medical and nursing care operators is mostly attributed to staff shortages and rising costs.
What is the hantavirus that killed three cruise ship passengers?
The cruise ship MV Hondius floats off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on Sunday.
China's rare defiance of U.S. sanctions sparks showdown over banks
A Chinese flag flutters in front of the Shanghai Gaoqiao Company Refinery in Shanghai.
At 70, chasing birds across a changing Japan
Shorebirds gather in dense flocks at Higashiyoka Higata (tidal flats), pushed together by the rising tide.
Fujisawa flashpoint: A mosque project stokes nativist fears
Muslims pray at Tokyo Camii in the Yoyogi-Uehara neighborhood. Though Muslims account for only 0.3% of Japan¡¯s population, rhetoric in online spaces and by conservative politicians has fomented social tensions.
No longer shushed: Japan¡¯s cultural venues make room for children
In 2019, Saitama Arts Theater started permitting children under 3 to some of its shows. Previously, children under 4 were not permitted.
New head chef at Maz explores Peruvian food through a Japanese lens
Since taking over Maz last month, chef Yuya Nakamura has been gradually introducing more Japanese influences to the restaurant's innovative Peruvian cuisine.
For tourists in Japan¡¯s outdoor sports scene, safety is not guaranteed
Each winter, countless tourists flock to Japan's famous snow-covered mountains, but a lack of top-down regulation on the country's outdoor sports industry can make certain activities unnecessarily risky.

Podcast

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

Longform

Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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