Tokyo, Dec. 5 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s industry ministry Tuesday proposed the creation of a permission system for drilling and storage operations in carbon capture and storage, or CCS, projects to collect carbon dioxide and store it underground.   The ministry presented the proposal to require approval from the industry minister for such operations, at its meetings with subgroups of the Industrial….Read more

NHK reported that Trade and Industry Minister Nishimura commented on Japan’s endorsement of the U.S.-organized declaration seeking to triple nuclear energy capacity around the world by 2050 with the goal of curbing the rise in temperature. “Japan is not considering tripling its nuclear capability,” he was quoted as saying. “Instead, we will concentrate on offering other countries technical assistance and….Read more

MAO KAWANO, Nikkei staff writer   TOKYO — A Japanese state-backed insurer will cover a 100 billion yen ($680 million) credit line extended by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking to power company JERA for LNG purchases, Nikkei has learned, seeking to help diversify the country’s energy procurement.   The policy, offered by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), will be the first….Read more

Itochu Corp. will set up a public-private fund within the fiscal year to support the spread of energy storage facilities, the company said Monday. The facilities connect storage batteries directly to the power grid and enable the charging and discharging of electricity according to supply and demand. The fund will focus on large-scale batteries and be the first of its….Read more

On Dec. 1, the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) disclosed to the public a test run of nuclear fusion, which is drawing attention as a next-generation decarbonized source of electricity. In October, the experiment’s initial phase, called “first plasma,” was successfully conducted at its Ibaraki facility. As operational costs are still high, it remains unseen when the….Read more

Nikkei reported that the secretariat of the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) concluded its additional inspection of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata, which has been offline since April 2021 due to insufficient measures against terrorism. The paper said the NRA is expected to discuss on Wednesday whether to approve the resumption of the plant operation. 

BY NITHIN COCA, CONTRIBUTING WRITER   Before the dust has even settled on key COP28 climate talks in the United Arab Emirates, Japan will host the first summit later this month on a zero carbon emission framework with Australia and Southeast Asian nations in Tokyo.   Taking place as Japan’s Group of Seven presidency ends, it’s perhaps a final opportunity….Read more

Saturday evening’s Nikkei reported that Japan has chosen not to take part in a multilateral coalition led by France aimed at prohibiting coal power generation based on the judgment that it cannot abide by the group’s goal of specifying a timeline for phasing out existing coal power plants on account of its heavy reliance on this type of fossil fuel.….Read more