METI Welcomes New Minister Amid Cabinet Purge

On Dec 14, Saito Ken was named the new METI minister following his predecessor’s resignation over a financial scandal in the Cabinet. He replaced Nishimura Yasutoshi, who, alongside other members of ...

A New Life for Old EV Batteries: Toyota and JERA Start Sweep Energy Storage

As the energy transition leads to more renewable energy and electrification of transport, demand for storage batteries is increasing. Manufacturing such batteries, however, requires a wide array of r...

How Are Less-Loved Hydrogen Carriers — Liquefied Hydrogen and MCH — Developing?

Hydrogen is a lonely element. It can’t exist by itself and needs to combine with a partner such as oxygen, transforming into water. Because the gas is far from stable, in order to transport it on shi...

JERA Boosts Offshore Wind Credentials With Acquisitions and Floating Tech

Many traditional energy firms waver on whether to shift to renewables, arguing that their expertise lies elsewhere. Japan’s top LNG buyer and biggest thermal utility, JERA, has decided to pursue both...

Japan Targets Rooftop Solar PV to Drive Industry Rebound

After almost a decade of rapid growth, solar power installations in Japan have stagnated. Now the government is determined to revive the market, as local and national authorities try to engineer an i...