Japanese Towns Bank on Renewable Energy
Japanese cities are entering the renewable-energy business, the latest phase in a shake-up of the nation’s power sector in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis. So far, about Continue Reading
Huge Fukushima Cover-Up Exposed, Government Scientists In Meltdown
Fukushima radiation just off the North American coast is higher now than it has ever been, and government scientists and mainstream press are scrambling to cover-up and downplay the ever-increasing Continue Reading
Japan LNG demand expected to fall by 2020 on nuclear restarts, renewables
Restart of nuclear reactors in Japan, growing renewable sources of energy and a slow economy are expected to push down the country’s LNG consumption by 2020 by as much as Continue Reading
Higher levels of Fukushima cesium detected
Scientists monitoring the spread of radiation in the ocean from the Fukushima nuclear accident report finding an increased number of sites off the US West Coast showing signs of contamination Continue Reading
Japan’s Biggest Oil Refiners Consider Merger as Demand Drops
Japan’s two biggest oil refiners, JX Holdings Inc. and TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K., said they are in talks to merge after the Nikkei newspaper reported the two companies reached a broad Continue Reading
Japan puts downward pressure on oil prices
Crude oil prices drift lower at the start of trading Monday after Japan reports its economy is shrinking and moving back into recession. Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI NEW YORK, Nov. 16 (UPI) — Energy markets shook off concerns about last week’s Islamic State attacks on Paris to drift lower on word the Japanese economy moved back into recession. Crude oil prices moved higher in the wake of last week’s tragedy in Paris, which sparked increased military activity from members of a U.S.-backed coalition against Islamic State targets, largely inside Syria. Increased conflict could spill over into the broader Middle East region and threaten key choke points for crude oil transit and production, including in the northern Iraqi border region near Syria. Oil prices in late September moved higher when Russia announced it was building military support on the side of its ally and Syrian President Bashar Assad. Macroeconomic news […]
Japan’s Economy Feels the Sting of China’s Slowdown
Photo As China’s economy has cooled, Japanese businesses like Tsutomu Nyuwa’s metalworking shop have experienced a slump in sales. Credit Kentaro Takahashi for The New York Times TOKYO — In its small way, Tsutomu Nyuwa’s metalworking shop in Yasugi, Japan, has been feeding the economic boom 700 miles away in China. Many of the precisely machine-tooled gears, bearings and other components turned out by Mr. Nyuwa and his 14 employees end up on Chinese work sites, in the engines of the giant earthmovers that have powered China’s breakneck pace of construction. But with Chinese growth now slowing, Mr. Nyuwa’s business is slumping — along with the rest of the Japanese economy, which data released on Monday showed is in recession again. Japanese equipment makers like Komatsu, Kubota and Hitachi Construction Machinery are selling fewer excavators and bulldozers in China and, in turn, are buying fewer parts from manufacturers like […]
Japan fuel reprocessing plant delayed again, till 2018
TOKYO (AP) — The operator of Japan’s fuel reprocessing plant said Monday that it was postponing the plant’s opening to as late as September 2018, citing regulators’ lengthy inspection procedures and time needed for safety upgrades. The Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. said it was delaying the targeted completion of the Rokkasho reprocessing plant, which separates plutonium from spent fuel for reuse as fuel, by as much as 2 1/2 years. The delay-plagued plant, initially set for launch in 2000, was most recently set to open in March 2016 following a series of technical problems. JNFL president Kenji Kudo told reporters at the company’s headquarters in Aomori, in northern Japan, that a separate plant to produce plutonium-based fuel had been delayed until sometime during the first half of fiscal 2019. Japan already has about 47 tons of plutonium – 11 tons at home and the rest reprocessed in Britain and […]
Japanese Oil Refiners JX Holdings and Tonen General in Merger Talks
JX Holdings, Japan’s biggest refinery by sales, approached the smaller Tonen General, the person said. The talks reflect a push by oil and gas producers to join hands amid a prolonged slump in oil prices and shrinking demand. A JX Holdings combined with Tonen General, Japan’s No. 3 player, would command about half of Japan’s market for refined products, and about double Idemitsu’s and Showa Shell’s combined market share. Both JX Holdings and Tonen General said in separate statements that they are searching for ways to increase the competitiveness of their refinery operations but nothing has been decided. A shrinking population, declining industrial activity and the advent of hybrid and electric vehicles have resulted in cutthroat price competition among refiners, draining their finances. Japan’s gasoline consumption has fallen 2% to 3% a year over the past decade, and the average price nationwide is at a five-year low. The pressure […]
Japan relapses into recession in July-September, a blow to Abenomics | Reuters
Japan slipped into its fourth technical recession in five years between July and September – spotlighting how the government’s “Abenomics” policies have struggled to drag the economy out of chronic Continue Reading