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July 01, 2026
 

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ELECTRICITY

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi answers a question during a House of Representatives budget committee session in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 5, 2026
Takaichi still highly popular despite slide in approval ratings
The lower ratings in two of three recent media polls come amid concerns over rising prices and the availability of crude oil-derived naphtha due to the Middle East conflict.
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, one of the world's largest nuclear facilities, stands along the seaside in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2026
Japan proposes rebuilding aging nuclear plants to meet power demand
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is a strong backer of nuclear power, seeking to ease the bill for imported coal, gas and oil.
People eat outside of a small cafeteria while neighbors look out from a balcony, as Cuba's state-run economy has descended into a full-blown crisis after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump hardened sanctions and cut off the Caribbean nation's oil supply, in Havana on Feb. 21.
WORLD
Jun 3, 2026
How Cubans keep going, despite U.S. pressure and fuel blockade
Despite Trump’s prediction in January that Cuba was “ready to fall” and despite ​rationed power and the decimation of its tourism industry, the government is still in charge.
The government doesn't plan to ask businesses and households to save electricity this summer despite fuel shortages arising from the war in the Middle East.
JAPAN
May 20, 2026
Japan says it has enough power to meet scorching summer demand
Households and businesses won’t be asked to conserve power, as all regions are expected to have ample supply, according to documents.
Electricity and city gas fees are likely to start rising around June as prices for crude oil and liquefied natural gas have been soaring because of the war in Iran.
JAPAN
May 14, 2026
Japan considers electricity and city gas subsidies in summer
Fees are likely to start rising around June as prices for crude oil and liquefied natural gas have been soaring due to the war in Iran.
An agrivoltaic crop, in which solar panels are raised about 3 meters off the ground so that agricultural machinery can freely operate on the crops underneath, in Sosa, Chiba Prefecture.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
May 3, 2026
As Iran war sends oil prices soaring, some see fresh potential for solar in Japan
While megasolar projects are facing headwinds at the government level, some see renewed potential for solar sharing and smaller-scale, off-grid systems.
The path toward sustainable AI lies in combining quantum computing with energy-efficient application design.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 6, 2026
Quantum computing could fix AI’s sustainability problem
Training Grok-4 alone reportedly required 310 gigawatt-hours of electricity — enough to power a town of 4,000.
Some utilities, for instance, tout that the utility costs will be cheaper under their plan without accounting for a variable fuel adjustment charge.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2026
Utility contract complaints persist nearly a decade after deregulation
Consumer officials are urging caution as complaints over electricity and gas contracts remain almost 10 years since Japan opened its utility markets.
Then-Indonesian President Joko Widodo (front) addresses the media at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port in December 2015 at a ceremony marking the launch of the first of five new floating power stations to meet the country’s growing demand for energy.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2026
Building the energy resilience ASEAN+3 needs
Strengthening energy resilience is not only an energy-policy priority; it is a macroeconomic imperative.
A vintage car drives along an empty street as Cuba begins efforts to restore power after its grid collapsed for the second time in a week, amid a U.S. oil blockade that has dealt a major blow to the island's already ailing energy infrastructure, in Havana on Sunday.
WORLD
Mar 23, 2026
Power restored to Cuba after second nationwide blackout in a week
There have been seven nationwide blackouts since 2024, making life more difficult for Cubans, who fear food will spoil in refrigerators, among other problems.
A hotel in Havana remains lit by its own system during a nationwide blackout in Cuba on Monday.
WORLD
Mar 17, 2026
Cuba suffers nationwide blackout as fuel supplies dwindle
Under pressure from Washington, the island hasn’t received a major fuel shipment in three months.
This former GM and Foxconn factory in Lordstown, Ohio, seen here in October, is set to be converted by SoftBank for data center equipment manufacturing.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 3, 2026
SoftBank’s Ohio power plant delivers an AI sticker shock
The underlying message is that the old model of just building giant power plants to meet whatever new peak demand forecast we dream up is unsustainable.
Chubu Electric Power President Kingo Hayashi speaks at a news conference to explain its quarterly earnings in Nagoya earlier this month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 24, 2026
Chubu Electric eyes stake in Indian renewable company Continuum
The Japanese power developer is nearing a deal to buy about $150 million to $200 million of new shares in Continuum at a valuation of over $1 billion.
Water vapor rises from residential buildings' autonomous heating systems during a power blackout and freezing temperatures, after critical civil infrastructure was hit by recent Russian missile and drone attacks, amid Russia's war in Ukraine, in Kyiv on Jan. 19.
WORLD
Feb 24, 2026
Power drought tips Ukraine’s economy into worst crisis since war’s first year
From steel mills to mines, cement-makers and food producers, Ukrainian industry is being forced to cut output and absorb rising costs.
Despite claims that solar growth has peaked, strong demand and technology adoption suggest the boom will continue, though silver use in panels may eventually decline.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2026
Silver’s surge suggests a brighter future for solar
Much of the recent run-up can be explained by a shift toward TOPCon, a new solar technology that requires more silver.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with oil and gas executives and senior U.S. officials in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 18, 2026
Trump is pushing gas to power AI boom, but building plants could take years
Building the kind of power plants that the Trump administration prefers has become extremely difficult.
Shimbashi Station in Tokyo's Minato Ward is crowded with commuters on Friday morning following East Japan Railway's suspension of major train lines.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2026
Power outage takes major Tokyo train lines offline during morning rush
The suspensions of the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines affected approximately 673,000 people.
The government has been subsidizing electricity and gas rates intermittently since 2023, automatically reflecting them in consumers' utility bills.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2025
Japan’s 10 major power firms to cut rates by over ¥1,000
The government has been subsidizing electricity and gas rates intermittently since 2023.
Smoke rises from chimneys at a factory in the port of Dunkirk, France, in January 2023. In the U.S., dozens of industries share a ready-made climate solution: electrification.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 17, 2025
New roadmap shows how to cut a surprisingly big source of emissions
Favorable tax treatment under U.S. President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act could encourage industries to upgrade to clean technologies such as electrification.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan falls in gut-wrenching fashion as Brazil strikes late to win World Cup clash
Brazil's Gabriel Martinelli (right) shoots past Japan defenders Shogo Taniguchi (left) and Takehiro Tomiyasu to score in the second half of a match in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston on Monday.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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