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July 02, 2026
 

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ENERGY

Oil storage tanks in the Keihin industrial area in Yokohama
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2026
Tokyo told national oil reserve site to prepare for release amid Iran crisis, Japan lawmaker says
Japan relies on the Middle East for around 95% of its crude supplies, with roughly 70% shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.
Sanae Takaichi and Donald Trump meet in Tokyo for a summit in October. Japan’s fossil fuel investments tied to deals with the United States show Takaichi’s government favoring legacy energy over renewables.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 8, 2026
Takaichi and Trump are natural fossil fuel buddies — or are they?
More than a third of Southeast Asia’s coal power finance between 2016 and 2024 came from Japanese banks, and more than a fifth of gas.
Oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in 2018. Japan relies on the Middle East for around 95% of its oil supplies with around 70% coming via the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively closed due to the Iran war.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2026
Japan may use part of national oil stockpile amid Iran war supply crisis: report
Japan relies on the Middle East for around 95% of its oil supplies with around 70% coming via the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively closed due to the Iran war.
Tankers off the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Mar 6, 2026
Qatar energy minister warns war will force Gulf to halt energy exports within weeks, report says
Qatar halted its production of liquefied natural gas on Monday, as Iran continued to strike Gulf countries in retaliation for Israeli and U.S. attacks.
Electricite de France, Europe’s flagship builder, has struggled to deliver nuclear power projects on time and on budget.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 6, 2026
A global nuclear power renaissance isn’t living up to the hype
In much of the world, lofty nuclear ambitions are at odds with the reality of an industry hollowed out by decades of stagnation.
An oil refinery in Texas. The war in the Middle East has roiled oil and gas markets, however, falling prices of solar and batteries offer another option.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Mar 6, 2026
How fossil fuel disruptions lead to booms in solar and batteries
The war in the Middle East has roiled oil and gas markets. Under a severe scenario, one estimate says that crude could reach $108 a barrel.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the White House on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 6, 2026
Trump on rising gas prices during Iran operation: ‘If they rise, they rise’
The U.S. president says the U.S. military operation in Iran is “far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit.”
Abu Dhabi National Oil Chief Executive Officer Sultan Al Jaber at Adnoc headquarters in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 9
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2026
Adnoc boss and UAE minister Al Jaber meets Sanae Takaichi
“While your energy security continues to be our priority, we will not be able to do much if there is any distortion in the Strait of Hormuz,” Al Jaber said.
Oil storage tanks in Kawasaki. As of the end of last year, Japan had enough oil in its reserves to last 254 days, according to data from the trade ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2026
Oil refiners in Japan ask government to tap strategic reserves
Japan gets more than 90% of its oil from the Middle East, leaving it vulnerable to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz that’s preventing energy exports.
Tankers are seen off the coast of the Fujairah, as Iran vows to close the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 4, 2026
Trump says U.S. will escort and insure oil tankers amid the Iran war
U.S. and Israel’s attacks on Iran have effectively brought oil flows through the critical Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s energy supplies transit, to a halt.
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.
Iran’s neighbors, like Qatar, are some of the world’s most important gas suppliers, and the region is also a vital supply route, with 20% of LNG exports traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial choke point for global energy.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 1, 2026
Iran crisis threatens worst disruption in gas markets since 2022
Asian buyers have been calling suppliers to check if alternative cargoes are available, according to traders.
A family sits against the backdrop of a dockyard off United Arab Emirates' coastal city of Fujairah, in the Strait of Hormuz, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 1, 2026
Ships avoid Strait of Hormuz as Iranian media essentially shuts it down
There’s been no formal announcement from Tehran about the status of the strait, which is crucial for the flow of oil and gas, but some tankers are turning around.
A crude oil tanker near the terminal Kozmino in Nakhodka Bay near the port city of Nakhodka, Russia, in 2022. Hungary ​and Slovakia, still reliant on Russian oil imports, are strongly opposed to any permanent ban.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 25, 2026
EU to propose permanent ban on Russian oil after Hungary election, document shows
The timing was ‌designed to prevent ‌the oil ban from becoming a major factor in Hungary’s election campaign, EU officials said, with the country strongly opposed to any ban.
A newly built and yet to open Tesla Supercharger station in Lost Hills, California, on Feb. 5
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 25, 2026
What Trump’s new tariffs mean for climate tech
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling is good news for companies like Tesla, which have seen production costs soar since last.
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.
The Cirebon-1 coal power plant in Cirebon, West Java, Indonesia, was supposed to be in its final years, with its closure set for early 2035.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Feb 18, 2026
Indonesia coal plant closure U-turn sows energy transition doubts
Despite being set to close in 2035, Indonesia said it would keep the coal plant open, citing its long potential lifespan and ability to burn coal better than older plants.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet in the Oval Office in Washington on Feb. 13, 2025. Trump’s transactional trade policies have eroded U.S.-India trust, leaving a once-strategic partnership vulnerable despite a temporary tariff deal.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2026
Trump’s trade truce won’t restore the U.S.-India relationship
With the interim trade deal between the U.S. and India, hopes are high that the bruising confrontation initiated by Trump last year is coming to an end.
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.
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.
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.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
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.

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
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