Japan’s national nuclear research and development institute has developed what it calls the world’s first uranium-based rechargeable battery that may pave the way for the use of massive stockpiles of radioactive material generated in the nuclear fuel manufacturing process. According to the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, the research team confirmed …
Read More »Japan Aims for 20 Percent Nuclear Power by 2040
Around 14 years after the Fukushima disaster, Japan is preparing to increase its nuclear power capacity once again, to a mainly negative public reaction. Japan’s government has developed a revision of the country’s basic energy plan, removing the statement that said it planned to decrease its dependence on nuclear power. …
Read More »Taiwan Joins Japan as Alaska LNG Hopeful
Taiwan has followed in Japan’s footsteps, expressing interest in buying more liquefied natural gas from the U.S. and more specifically from a project in Alaska, Reuters has reported, citing the country’s economy ministry. The statement reflects concern about the impact of tariffs that Trump has threatened to impose on all …
Read More »Japan’s Top LNG Buyer Plans more Purchases from the U.S.
JERA, the largest LNG buyer in Japan, plans to boost purchases from the United States to diversify its supply portfolio, a top company executive told Reuters on Friday. Japan, the world’s second-largest LNG importer after China, is looking to increase its energy security with diverse sources of supply and could …
Read More »Japan Makes Progress in Melted Fuel Extraction from Fukushima Nuclear Reactor
The operator of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear complex has said that it moved a “pebble-like” piece of melted fuel just outside a reactor container as part of its attempt to retrieve the radioactive debris for the first time since the plant was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. …
Read More »Japan and South Korea to Expand Initiative to Cut Methane Emissions
The Japanese government announced a decision Sunday to expand a Japan-South Korea cooperation framework aimed at reducing emissions of methane from natural gas development projects. Twenty-two Japanese companies, including Kansai Electric Power, Tokyo Gas and trader Mitsubishi, will newly join the framework, according to the government. The government made the …
Read More »Italy’s Eni in Talks with Japan on Supplying LNG
Italian energy company Eni is in talks with Japan on supplying the country with liquefied natural gas (LNG), Cristian Signoretto, Eni’s director for global gas and LNG portfolio, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on Sunday. “We already deal with Japanese buyers on a short-term basis and we …
Read More »Japan Companies Unite to Cut Methane Emissions from LNG Supply
Twenty-two Japanese utilities and trading houses are joining an initiative that aims to leverage their buying power to curb methane emissions from liquefied natural gas supply chains, as pressure mounts globally to curb the harmful greenhouse gas. Companies joining the Coalition for LNG Emission Abatement Toward Net Zero initiative include …
Read More »Japan LNG Lobby Urges Government to Help Negotiate Better Contracts
Japan’s liquefied natural gas buyers — among the world’s biggest — are struggling to ensure supply contracts are flexible enough, and need the government to help negotiate better terms, according to the head of an industry lobby group. So-called destination clauses that limit the on-selling of shipments make it harder …
Read More »IAEA: Japan’s Plan to Reuse Decontaminated Soil in Fukushima Safe: IAEA
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday that Japan’s plan to reuse decontaminated soil following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident is consistent with global safety standards. The U.N. nuclear safety watchdog handed its final expert report to Environment Minister Shintaro Ito in Tokyo on the same day, …
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