Fukushima still looms over energy decisions
Japan ignores strategic low-carbon energy options and risks muddling through by adding more coal
The surprise resignation of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe due to illness, just over a year before elections scheduled for October 2021, creates possible inflection points for a policy overhaul in a country dogged by energy insecurity. Yet Japan’s conservative and self-reinforcing political culture, in which getting along is more important than strategic vision, means we are likely to see more of the same. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will choose a successor to Abe on 14 September, with chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga favoured to take over and therefore likely be in power until the elections. If Suga is able to provide a sense of continuity with Abe's tenure, it w
Also in this section
21 August 2025
The administration has once more reduced its short-term gas price forecasts, but the expectation remains the market will tighten over the coming year, on the back of
19 August 2025
ExxonMobil’s MOU with SOCAR, unveiled in Washington alongside the peace agreement with Armenia, highlights how the Karabakh net-zero zone is part of a wider strategic realignment
19 August 2025
OPEC and the IEA have very different views on where the oil market is headed, leaving analysts wondering which way to jump
15 August 2025
US secondary sanctions are forcing a rapid reassessment of crude buying patterns in Asia, and the implications could reshape pricing, freight and supply balances worldwide. With India holding the key to two-thirds of Russian seaborne exports, the stakes could not be higher
