japan

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Countries including the U.S., Canada, Norway, and China are also interested in using hydrate deposits as an additional source of energy, since methane is a main component.[read more]

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Japan increased the use of fossil fuels for power generation 21% in 2012, following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.[read more]

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Japan produced natural gas from offshore methane hydrates Tuesday, a breakthrough with potentially explosive consequences for both global energy markets and the effort to tackle climate change.[read more]

methane hydrate

Japan says it has successfully extracted natural gas from frozen methane hydrate off its central coast, in a world first. Methane hydrates, or clathrates, are a type of frozen “cage” of molecules of methane and water.[read more]

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Japan’s national energy strategy experienced a 9.0 quake of its own in 2011 as a result of the twin incidents of the March 11 tsunami and subsequent Fukushima nuclear accident. It rattled many assumptions about energy sources and electrical grid configurations. A recent Silicon Valley Technology Forum hosted by Fujitsu served as an excellent opportunity to hear how these large-scale events have shaped thinking and R&D in the leading information and communications (ICT) company in Japan[read more]

Since the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011, and which resulted in one of the worst nuclear accidents in recent history, Japan has signaled its intentions to transition towards clean, alternative energy.[read more]

There was a clever headline in the satirical newspaper The Onionearlier this week that wouldn’t be so humorous if it wasn’t true.“300 Million Without Electricity In India After Restoration Of Power Grid,” the headline read.The article was referring to the massive power outage across India Tuesday that cut electricity to 670 million...[read more]

How, exactly, do you design the world’s least C02-emitting building? By incorporating a whole host of green features, apparently, as Shimizu Corporation has with its new headquarters building in Tokyo. The building, which officially opened yesterday, is said to emit only 38 kilograms per square meter of CO2 peryear, 62 percent less than...[read more]

China recently overtook America as the world’s largest consumer of energy — also making it the largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. Led by China, countries pumped record levels of CO2 into the atmosphere in 2011, setting the world on a path to 11 degree Fahrenheit warming by the end of the century.If that prospect isn’t worrisome...[read more]

In a nationwide speech he tells the country they are "indispensible" Prime Minister NodaThe message of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda about restarting the nation's nuclear reactors is as clear as the sound of temple bells at noontime.  In a stark appeal on national television, he said the loss of energy from the closed power...[read more]

The country's economy has taken a beating in terms of exports and the cost of importing fossil fuels cannot be sustained much longerJapan PM Yoshihiko NodaJapan's prime minister Yoshihiko Noda got some wind in his sails in efforts to restart the nation's shut down nuclear reactors this week. Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, a high profile...[read more]

Electric utilities and policymakers in Japan and Germany have been scrambling for months to find ways to compensate for nuclear power plants shut down in the aftermath of Fukushima.In both instances, fossil fuels are part of the stopgap solution to offset the declines in nuclear generation in the short term, but longer-term energy...[read more]

Like many other countries upping their renewable energy game, Japan is pulling out all the stops to encourage new growth from solar and wind power. After the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan has to find other alternative energy solutions to nuclear, and is proposing a new feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme to encourage solar and wind...[read more]

Image credit: We Are All Radioactive Sneak Peek / Facebook Page

Journalist Lisa Katayama and filmmaker Jason Wishnow are documenting the lives of people dealing with radiation in a Post-Earthquake Japan. In We Are All Radioactive, they are including 50% footage made by themselves in the areas around Fukushima Power Plant that had a meltdown after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, and 50% footage made by residents who were given waterproof digital cameras so they could tell their own story on surviving the earthquake and now dealing with radiation.[read more]

Last week, the influential weekly news and international affairs publication, The Economist, ran an essay on the future of nuclear energy – The dream that failed: Nuclear power will not go away, but its role may never be more than marginal.[read more]