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July 03, 2026
 

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UTILITIES

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings will cut July electricity bills for standard households by ¥616 from the previous month to ¥8,236.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025
Tepco to cut household electricity bills in July
Nine other major power suppliers and four major city gas providers are also likely to considerably reduce their rates.
After the appellate court ruling in the shareholders' lawsuit over the Tepco Fukushima No.1 nuclear accident, plaintiffs hold up signs reading "Unjust Ruling" on Friday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 6, 2025
High court overturns ruling against ex-Tepco executives
The count found the executives were unable to predict the tsunami that triggered the triple reactor meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Tugboats assist a liquified natural gas tanker as it docks at a port in Yantai, China, in February. In 2021, China became the largest importer of LNG, and as of this year, China now has the most long-term LNG contracts.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jun 1, 2025
China is eroding Japan’s LNG dominance. How does that affect Japanese buyers?
Japanese companies have long held the leading position in the buying and trading of one of the world’s key energy sources, but that era of hegemony has come to an end.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is looking to make the cost of base service fees in water utility bills free during the summer, hoping the financial support will allow residents to turn on their air conditioners and protect themselves against heatstroke.
JAPAN / Society
May 20, 2025
Tokyo to cover cost of base service fees for water utilities through summer
By lowering utility fees, the metropolitan government hopes to give residents a sense of security that they can accommodate other necessary expenses.
When Jera co-fired ammonia at its Hekinan coal plant in Aichi Prefecture last year, it reduced emissions by 20%.
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2025
Japan embraces lab-made fuels despite costs and climate concerns
Japanese utilities say e-methane is chemically almost identical to natural gas but is effectively carbon-neutral.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said fees for average households that use 260 kilowatt-hours of power per month will increase by ¥436 from March to ¥9,031 next month.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2025
Japan household electricity bills to rise in April
Fees for the average household will go up by between ¥385 and ¥465 in April, due mainly to the end of government subsidies to curb inflation.
Chubu Electric Power removed the top lid of the No. 2 reactor at its Hamaoka plant Monday, marking the first time in Japan that the dismantling of a commercial nuclear reactor has begun.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2025
Dismantling of reactor begins at Hamaoka nuclear plant
The dismantling process is the third stage of the decommissioning project at the plant in Shizuoka Prefecture.
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.
Surging development costs, supply chain issues and higher inflation have heavily weighed on the offshore wind sector in recent years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 9, 2024
BP and JERA to combine offshore wind operations in joint venture
The 50-50 venture, called JERA Nex BP, will include operating assets and development projects with a potential generation capacity of 13 gigawatts.
Tokyo Gas’ LNG terminal in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 20, 2024
Tokyo Gas shares jump most since 1987 after activist fund discloses major stake
Elliott Investment Management said it now owns more than 5% of Tokyo Gas and may make “important proposals” to the utility provider.
Shares in retailers may rise after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba formed a minority government that may cut taxes to lure cooperation from opposition parties.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 12, 2024
Minority government in Japan can help retail stocks and utilities
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba may cut taxes to keep smaller parties on side — increasing workers’ disposable income.
The Goi thermal power station in Chiba Prefecture
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Oct 18, 2024
Japanese youth sue utilities over climate impact
The plaintiffs, all in their teens and 20s, say it is the first such case brought by young people in Japan.
The units under construction at Jera's liquefied natural gas fired power plant inside the company's Anegasaki Thurmal Power Station in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, in June 2022
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2024
Japan and South Korea to expand initiative to cut methane emissions
Methane’s greenhouse effect is believed to be more than 20 times that of carbon dioxide. Leaks of methane from gas fields are a major issue that need to be dealt with.
Jera's liquefied natural gas fired power plant inside the company's Anegasaki Thurmal Power Station in Ichihara, Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2024
Japan firms unite to cut methane emissions from LNG supply
Twenty-two firms are joining an initiative that aims to leverage their buying power to curb methane emissions from liquefied natural gas supply chains.
For a billionaire with a mission to prevent climate change, “He greened the energy policy of the world’s fourth-biggest economy (Japan),” would make a hell of an epitaph for Mike Cannon-Brookes. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 29, 2024
An activist investor could green Japan for $700 million
For a billionaire with a mission to prevent climate change, “Greened the energy policy of the world’s fourth-biggest economy” would make a hell of an epitaph.
Naotoshi Iwamoto of Kansai Transmission and Distribution explains about how power grid operators cooperated to restore electricity in areas affected by the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2024
Industry collaboration leads to early power recovery in Noto
Eight regional utility groups dispatched a total of more than 4,000 workers to help restore power to more than 90% of outage-hit areas within about a month of the quake.
It is estimated that the cleanup at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will cost around ¥23 trillion ($157 billion).
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2024
Tepco to demonstrate removal of radioactive debris from Fukushima No. 1
About 880 metric tons of fuel debris remain in the three reactors that suffered a meltdown.
Jera reported ¥93.4 billion in profit for the April-June quarter, down 48% from the year-before period.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 1, 2024
JERA’s April-June profit halves; Taketoyo plant remains shut
The 1,070-megawatt (MW) Taketoyo power station in Aichi Prefecture has been shut since it was hit by a fire on Jan. 31.
As metal prices rise, so do cases of theft, with more and an increasing number of metal cables being stolen from solar power plants in Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 1, 2024
Japan’s solar plants see over 9,000 cases of cable theft since 2023
The survey were the first to be conducted by the National Police Agency on the situation, at a time when metal prices are rising.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
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.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
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."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
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.

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