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August 12, 2026
 

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ELECTRICITY

A man drinks from a water fountain amid a heat wave in New York City on July 4.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2026
Energy efficiency is no communist plot
Politics, not policy, drives the backlash against power conservation in the U.S.
A 7?megawatt wind turbine, a pilot project led by Marubeni and funded by the Japanese government, at a port in Onahama, Fukushima Prefecture
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2026
Blow winds blow: Time to harvest wind power off Â鶹´«Ã½ coast
Japan is investing heavily in offshore wind abroad while its domestic sector still lags due to policy and infrastructure hurdles.
A man uses a portable lamp during a nationwide blackout in Havana on July 10.
WORLD
Jul 15, 2026
Cuba faces third nationwide blackout in less than 10 days
Cuba is reeling from its worst economic crisis in decades ¡ª one made worse by the fuel blockade imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in January.
Workers package and cube pallet bricks for shipping at Belden Brick in Sugarcreek, Ohio, in November 2025.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 8, 2026
U.S. Rust Belt factories get shock as Big Tech data centers drive up power bills
Factory electricity bills, a core expense, are rising faster than for many homes and other businesses, a review of U.S. energy data shows.
A young woman looks at a mobile phone in Havana during a nationwide blackout on Monday.
WORLD
Jul 7, 2026
¡®Agony¡¯ in Cuba amid third nationwide blackout in six months
Cuba was already struggling to keep the lights on before U.S. President Donald Trump cut off its oil supplies, depleting the dwindling supply of fuel for its power plants.
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jul 3, 2026
Iran war exposed, but hasn¡¯t changed, Â鶹´«Ã½ reliance on imported oil
Japan received over 93% of its oil imports through the Strait of Hormuz last year before it was effectively closed.
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 ¡ª 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.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Strong wind and heavy rain forecast as tropical storm approaches Japan
Tropical Storm Chan-hom is expected to make landfall in northern Kanto between late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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