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July 24, 2026
 

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David Fickling
A fuel cell module model at the Toyota Motor booth during the Hyvolution exhibition in Paris in January 2025
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2026
The hydrogen economy is down but not out
The problem has always been price. As we¡¯ve written, optimistic assumptions about the declining cost of green H2 have been going backward for years.
Diet Coke and Coca-Cola cans are for sale in a shop in New Delhi in April.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2026
The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø is coming for your Diet Coke
Almost every one of those electrical devices, however, depends on the same aluminum that¡¯s disappearing from the refrigerators of Indian supermarkets.
The war in Iran is fueling currency crises in energy-importing countries, underscoring the need to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy to shield economies from fossil-fuel shocks.
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2026
The energy crisis is becoming a currency crisis
The biggest losers include the Egyptian pound, the Philippine peso, the South Korean won and the Thai baht.
A tanker approaches a pier at a PT Pertamina facility at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta in February. Conflict in the Middle East and rising fuel prices are driving energy shocks across Asia.
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2026
Oil shock will hit Asia harder than the 1970s
We¡¯re seeing the first tremors of a similar earthquake now in Asia. More than 80% of the oil and gas that passes through the Strait of Hormuz heads east.
Tourists pose for photos near anti-landing barricades on a beach, in Kinmen, Taiwan, in October, with China¡¯s Xiamen City in the background. Taiwan¡¯s defenses are strong, but energy remains its weakness.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2026
The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø has exposed Taiwan¡¯s Achilles¡¯ heel
Without setting foot on Taiwan¡¯s shores, China could enforce a blockade similar to the one Tehran has been operating in the Strait.
The energy crisis caused by the war in Iran is strengthening the case for electric vehicles for some consumers. Chinese carmakers are expected to be the big winners.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2026
The oil shock is accelerating Asia¡¯s EV revolution
EVs have already hit solid double-digit market shares in multiple emerging markets, as falling battery costs and tax incentives helped undercut conventional cars.
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 ¡ª 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.
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 Bayan Obo rare-earth mine in Inner Mongolia. China cutting off rare-earth exports to Japan over the Taiwan issue will have a limited impact because Japan and other countries have diversified supplies and taken steps to weaken Beijing¡¯s long-term leverage.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 11, 2026
China is overplaying its rare-earth hand in Japan
While China produces about 80% of the world¡¯s neodymium magnets, Japan on its own manufactures about half of the remainder.
In 2025, overlooked climate challenges included the warming effects of reduced pollution, stalled progress in green hydrogen and rising financing costs for renewables.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2025
Here¡¯s the bad climate news you missed this year
The current renewables boom will need to prove those fossil plants superfluous, and quickly, if we want to stop them getting built.
Workers assemble new Nissan Leaf electric vehicles at a production facility in Sunderland, England, on Dec. 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2025
The positive climate news you may have missed this year
Much climate news is gloomy, but there are positive developments all the time ¡ª so many, in fact, that it¡¯s easy to miss some of the things that have been happening.
Australia's flag flies at half-mast at the Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club in Sydney to honor victims of the mass shooting that took place near there on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2025
Kneejerk responses won¡¯t stop the next Bondi attack
Preventing another tragedy like Bondi will involve improving the painstaking work of anti-extremism and counterterrorism.
People place floral tributes outside the Bondi Pavilion in Sydney on Tuesday in honor of the victims of Sunday¡¯s mass shooting.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2025
Bondi and Australia get swept into a violent world
Bondi has been a center of Jewish life in Australia for more than a century.
Fossil fuels like propane and isobutane, commonly used for BBQs, are helping replace potent hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants, significantly cutting greenhouse gas emissions and showing that practical solutions can slow global warming.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2025
BBQ gas is helping to cool a warming planet
A widening array of national-level regulations, prompted by the United Nations-backed Kigali Amendment on HFCs, are gradually pushing hydrofluorocarbons out of the market.
A climate-displaced woman stands along the Kholpetua River on April 26 in Bangladesh¡¯s Satkhira district, where rising sea levels threaten coastal communities.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2025
The real failure on climate didn¡¯t happen in Brazil
Of the 10 biggest polluters accounting for three-quarters of carbon emissions, just two ¡ª the European Union and Japan ¡ª have submitted documents with any hope of being enacted.
Kuwait, despite its vast oil wealth, is facing worsening power outages due to political gridlock, underinvestment and climate pressures ¡ª highlighting the unsustainability of fossil fuel dependence in a warming world.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2025
Why the most oil-rich country can¡¯t keep the lights on
Electricity was cut to 30 regions in April as temperatures soared and households cranked up the air conditioning.
China is reshaping the global energy landscape by pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into clean energy investments across the Global South, creating jobs and long-term influence on a scale comparable to the Marshall Plan.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2025
China is winning its power play for the Global South
Beijing¡¯s green energy projects are bringing jobs, growth and cheap electricity to the developing world.
Despite centuries of overfishing and ecological collapse, the recovery of tuna stocks shows that strong regulation and economic self-interest can make once-endangered species sustainably abundant again.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 16, 2025
Tuna sushi is safe from extinction, for now
With the exception of Mediterranean albacore (a favorite of Spanish canneries) and bigeye in the Indian Ocean, every population is now being fished within sustainable levels.
Workers carry solar panels to install them at a solar farm in the desert in Lingwu, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, in April.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2025
The world¡¯s biggest polluter is cleaning up its act
Coal output is still climbing, but China¡¯s clean power surge means much of it now sits in stockpiles rather than fueling growth.
The election of Lee Jae-myung signals South Korea¡¯s leftward shift on energy policy, but despite his ambitious renewable plans, deep-rooted regulatory, financial and geographic challenges threaten to stall progress unless reforms are swift and systemic.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2025
South Korea¡¯s new president has a chance to clean up
Years of inertia and obstruction of the transition have left the country with a system plagued by high costs and the lowest renewable penetration among developed economies.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.

Podcast

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

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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