Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Fusion energy is potentially a reusable, unlimited, clean energy source. It’s how the sun makes energy. There’s been some progress in developing fusion technologies, but the timeline still stretches out for decades. Nevertheless, Japanese startups are part of the fusion energy race.

Kyoto Fusioneering, a startup which was born out of Kyoto University, announced that it will have a testing facility for fusion power plant equipment by 2024. It aims to have a fusion power plant up and running within the next five years. The firm has already raised over ¥1.3 billion (US$10 million) towards its goals.

If all goes according to plan, Kyoto Fusioneering’s power plant will have the ability to actually generate power. However, its energy production is expected to be quite modest–the company believes it will be several dozen kilowatts, or about the energy needed to light up a single incandescent light bulb.

Another Japanese startup that has been in the news lately is EX-Fusion, which aims to commercialize laser-based fusion energy. In April it closed pre-seed round funding, gathering about ¥130 million (US$1 million). EX-Fusion initially hopes to generate neutrons in sequential laser fusion reactions.

On the global stage, numerous other fusion energy projects are also underway, but they seem to be quite far from their ultimate goals.

At the the Joint European Torus (JET) facility in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, the focal point of the European fusion research program, the tokamak (a machine which contains the fusion energy) broke records in late 2021 by sustaining a small burst of fusion energy for five seconds.

One of the oldest and most advanced projects, ITER, isn’t scheduled to start generating a large amount of energy until 2035. This project is based in southern France and is a collaboration between 35 governments, including Japan.

By all appearances, it will be at least 2050 before fusion reactors will be ready to produce energy on a mass scale, and that is simply too late to make it a real solution for the climate crisis.

The only thing that might change this verdict is a major scientific breakthrough, which, at present, is not in sight.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) commitments are seen as a means to encourage for-profit corporations to promote the welfare of society beyond simply bringing returns to shareholders. After a slow start, Japan too has begun to embrace this international trend, led by the central government.

In 2021, the overwhelming majority (81%) of global ESG investment was found in Europe. The United States made up a further 13%, leaving the rest of world far behind.

In Japan’s case, this appears to be changing. In March, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced an estimated US$157 billion in government-funded green bonds to boost carbon neutral development.

Also, the Government Pension Investment Fund, the country’s largest pool of retirement savings, announced its commitment to the state’s Society 5.0 initiative, which is regarded as an example of ESG development.

For its part, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is also setting out plans to deepen ties on sustainable investment with the City of London, recently crowned the world’s leader in ESG finance.

So far, ESG commitments are emerging mostly from the national and local governments much more than from the business world itself.

London-based international law firm Clifford Chance argues in a report on ESG in Japan that further progress hinges upon uptake from the corporate world, especially among smaller companies.

Japan is making the most progress on the environmental policy aspects of ESG, but this is only one area of concern. In fields such as social and corporate governance, Japan’s improvement has been sluggish, especially when compared to Europe.

For example, Japan’s gender equality rankings are the lowest among G7 nations. As of 2019, only 5.2% of board directors were female. Gender equality outside the executive floor also suffers–44% of women work in part-time or temporary jobs compared to less than 12% of men, according to figures from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Also, while the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) has significantly altered its Charter of Corporate Behavior to focus more on human rights–now including measures to promote the rights of women in professional environments such as providing maternity leave and taking tougher action on sexual harassment–progress on the ground has been gradual.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Seven-Eleven Japan have formed a new agreement to materialize their plan for a nationwide drone delivery service.

Under the agreement, ANA’s main responsibilities will be to establishing the drone operation system, including the selection of the drone aircraft which will be used, and to improve communication stability related to drone operation.

For its part, Seven-Eleven Japan will be adjusting its product delivery service 7Now, deciding which products will be subject to customer delivery by drone, as well as building vertiports at the Seven-Eleven outlets that will be participating in the program.

The two firms expect to begin practical tests of the system in Fukuoka city this autumn and are aiming for a nationwide launch by FY2025.

Like most other drone delivery initiatives in Japan, this one is also focusing on creating services for remote island communities and for those who live in isolated mountain regions.

Seven-Eleven Japan, the country’s largest convenience store chain, launched its 7Now home delivery service in May 2018 and has gradually been expanding it through its national network of about 20,000 stores.

ANA is the largest airline in Japan by revenues and passenger numbers.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — This summer’s soaring temperatures in Texas forced cryptocurrency mining operations to cease activity, and in the process reigniting debate on the technology’s environmental credentials. Even still, strides are being made to develop blockchain infrastructure that is more carbon conscious.

Relatively cheap energy in Texas has attracted crypto-miners to set up operations in the US state, leading to a strain on the capacity of its beleaguered power grid. These operations in Texas are predicted to require 6GW of electricity by 2023, which is a figure roughly equal to the needs of the state’s largest city, Houston.

As of last week, however, the majority of industrial mining ventures have temporarily shut down in compliance with the Texas grid authority’s request for private enterprises to conserve energy.

Cryptocurrency mining is the means by which new coins are effectively “minted.” This is achieved by setting a computer to solve a complex mathematical puzzle in order to generate a new coin. As a blockchain grows, this process requires more elaborate calculations to solve–therefore greatly increasing the computing power and the energy needed.

This “Proof of Work” (PoW) system, whereby a coin is created only if a significant amount of activity is detected from the mining computer, is the critical factor in cryptocurrency’s massive power consumption.

As demonstrated by the shutdown in Texas, the carbon footprint of cryptocurrency mining is a significant weakness in the technology’s growing ecosystem. Bitcoin, the first and still most valuable cryptocurrency, uses around 115 terawatt hours of energy globally each year, thus emitting about 65 million tons of carbon dioxide on an annual basis.

Critics have argued that such huge energy requirements put cryptocurrency out of step with other developing technologies at a time of climate crisis.

Proponents of cryptocurrency argue for patience, asserting that the technology is still in its early stages of development and will make improvements over time.

This position is shared by the World Economic Forum (WEF), which has made partnerships with dozens of cryptocurrency organizations around the world. The WEF suggests that blockchain technology will become a valuable innovation in the battle against climate change.

In particular, the use of cryptocurrencies could streamline costly inefficiencies in global trade and energy management. The WEF also outlines a prospective Carbon Utility Token (CUT), a cryptocurrency purchasable by companies in which all proceeds from trades go towards green investment. The more CUTs that a corporation holds, the higher would be its Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) investment rating.

Work is already under way to decarbonize cryptocurrency infrastructure with developments like Ethereum 2.0. This network, second in value only to Bitcoin, is adopting a new “Proof of Stake” (PoS) system which will be 99% more energy efficient than the established PoW model.

Many smaller blockchain projects, like SolarCoin and Cardano, have been set up as entirely carbon-neutral operations. For example, SolarCoins can only be verified on its blockchain if the mining process is powered by solar energy.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Kyoto University and Kajima Corporation, a major construction firm, have proposed the development of an artificial gravity technology which would aim to sustain human life on the Moon and Mars in future decades.

Artificial gravity is believed to be an important step toward allow long-term or permanent human colonies on other planets and moons, many of which have lower gravity than Earth.

Kyoto University and Kajima have proposed a technology they call the “Lunar Glass,” which would allow humans to live comfortably within it.

Kyoto University Professor Yosuke Yamashiki explained, “we wanted to present completely original ideas.”

The Lunar Glass concept was introduced to the public in a YouTube video earlier this month. What it shows is a cone-shaped housing facility which rotates in a manner that simulates gravity on Earth and creates a livable environment.

The precise level of simulated gravity can be adjusted utilizing centrifugal force in amounts that replicate the “1G” conditions of Earth.

The proposed structure would contain all the basic necessities required for human survival, such as air, food, soil, vegetation, and a sizable body of water–even an open sky. This would allow settlers the ability to live for an extended period of time on the Moon and Mars.

The initial design is proposed to be 100 meters wide and up to 400 meters high.

The Lunar Glass would later be followed by the “Mars Glass,” which would be constructed following successful adoption on the Moon.

Artificial gravity, aside from providing comfort, is believed necessary from a human health perspective, especially in cases of long-term settlement.

Infants and young people who grow up in weak gravity could develop problems such an inability to cope with a return to Earth. For example, it is possible that they wouldn’t be able to stand or walk in 1G conditions unless accustomed to doing so. Moreover, some studies have indicated that weaker levels of gravity over a long period could lead to osteoporosis, muscle loss, and eye damage.

Kajima hopes that the Lunar Glass will be deployed to the Moon by 2050, though costs have yet to be calculated.

“Developing an artificial gravity residential facility with Kyoto University will be a watershed moment in space research,” says Takuya Ono, an architect with Kajima.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — It is becoming increasingly clear that Japan’s emerging eVTOL industry does not intend to “go it alone” as a national effort, but is reaching across borders on joint development, particularly with the United States.

This is not the way the nation’s businesses have approached new technologies in the past. It may be a concession to an emerging lack of confidence in Japan’s ability to assume a world-beating position on its own in a more competitive world.

At this point it appears that there may be no such thing as an entirely “Made in Japan” eVTOL.

SkyDrive, arguably the national champion among eVTOL startups, recently announced that its forthcoming two-seater SD-05 will be powered by the EPiC battery system provided by Utah-based Electric Power Systems.

It’s not as if there aren’t major Japanese battery-makers like Panasonic with which SkyDrive might have turned to as a partner.

Some Japanese eVTOL makers, like Tetra Aviation, have adopted a US-first policy: Tetra is entering the experimental aircraft market in the United States, and only at a later stage is planning to return to the Japan market.

Moreover, we have quite recently learned that A.L.I. Technologies, which has developed Japan’s premier hoverbike–the XTurismo–is planning to change its name and to move its headquarters to the United States.

The leaves only the Honda eVTOL (about which we so far know very little) as a possibility to become an entirely domestically produced aircraft.

It works the other way around too: Japanese engineers and suppliers are involved in some of the most prominent international eVTOL firms.

Aichi Prefecture-based automotive components manufacturer Denso is working with prominent German eVTOL company Lilium to co-develop and manufacture the electric motors that will power the Lilium Jet.

Toyota Motor Corporation is the top investor in Joby Aviation, to the tune of about US$400 million, and the partnership involves other forms of cooperation as well, including manufacturing support.

Again, from the point of view of the more traditional Japanese business practice, one would expect that Toyota’s natural eVTOL partner would be SkyDrive, a company founded by former Toyota engineers.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — On the fourth anniversary of the enactment of the IR Implementation Act, the complete collapse of this once-heralded initiative to build multi-billion dollar casino resorts in Japan is very much in view.

Even the most bullish analysts have been forced to admit that the process has not gone well, and it is set to deliver far less than what was initially promised. No one is talking any longer about Japan as the second-largest casino gambling market in Asia.

The several dozen international companies aiming to grab a piece of the Japan bonanza have been whittled down to only MGM Resorts International and Casinos Austria International.

Dozens of local governments in Japan that had once floated the notion of becoming hosts for these massive entertainment facilities have also been reduced to only two.

And the national politicians who most keenly championed the IR legislation are, with few exceptions, either dead, retired, or tarnished by bribery or sexual harassment scandals.

Put simply, this controversial initiative is now in a very sorry state.

Four years ago, the IR legislation was pushed through by the ruling party and its allies in the face of unanimous rejection by the opposition parties and against the wishes of a clear majority of Japanese public opinion.

Step-by-step, public disapproval has worn down the proponents. Some pro-IR politicians were defeated at the ballot box, some stymied by opposition in prefectural assemblies and city councils, and others put their fingers to the wind and then bowed out before they damaged their own political careers.

Nagasaki is still in the IR race because the local government did a better job than anyone else in preparing local public opinion to accept casino gambling as a necessary evil to help revive the tourism-based economy.

But they may have shot themselves in the foot by selecting a very weak IR consortium which won’t even make public its financing plans. While not entirely proven, circumstantial evidence suggests that they rejected stronger bids at the last minute largely because the investment money would have come from China.

The Osaka bid is also in trouble. Although the locally-dominant Osaka Restoration Association made the Yumeshima IR a signature policy, much has gone wrong since the high tide in late 2018: delays meant that most synergies with the 2025 World Expo have been lost; the land earmarked for IR development has been found to have multiple contamination and soil liquefaction problems; the burden on local taxpayers has been increased in violation of earlier promises; a defeat on administrative reorganization has induced Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui to announce his retirement from politics next year; citizen lawsuits have been filed; and the opposition Liberal Democratic Party has decided to throw in with the opponents of IR development, smelling the blood in the water.

While it is by no means impossible that one or both Nagasaki and Osaka may yet crawl over the finish line, receive an IR license, and built their casino resorts, this is starting to become the less likely scenario.

And should the current process in fact collapse and no IRs are licensed this year, it also seems probable that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will let this unpopular initiative die. Casino resorts seem rather out of step with the spirit of the “New Capitalism” policies which he champions.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The yet-to-be-unveiled SkyDrive SD-05, a two-seater eVTOL, is coming closer to realization as the firm has announced two key component suppliers.

Shiga Prefecture-based Toray Carbon Magic will be supplying advanced carbon fiber reinforced plastics for the vehicle.

A release from SkyDrive explained that “the most important factor in the development of the two-seater SD-05 is to reduce the weight of the vehicle. Toray Carbon Magic’s design and manufacturing technologies and facilities are extremely effective in achieving this goal, and we have been engaged in discussions and prototypes of a light and strong carbon fiber reinforced plastic structure for a flying car.”

It added that, in addition to being strong and lightweight, “carbon fiber also has features such as electrical conductivity, heat resistance, a low thermal expansion coefficient, self-lubricity, and X-ray permeability.”

SkyDrive CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa described the use of this material as being “an essential element of our two-seater aircraft SD-05.”

Separately, it was announced that Utah-based Electric Power Systems has been selected to design, develop, and manufacture the battery system for the SD-05.

The SD-05 will employ the firm’s EPiC battery system, which includes battery modules and a battery management system.

When the EPiC battery system was unveiled last year, Electric Power Systems CEO Nathan Millecam stated that it represents “a major step forward in advancing electric propulsion for airborne applications. Our modular platform allows aircraft designers the ability to create innovative new airframe concepts, as well as revitalize legacy airframes.”

In 2019, Boeing and Safran invested in Electric Power Systems to enhance its research and development, energy storage, and electric propulsion capabilities. The Utah firm’s publicly announced customers include NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing, Safran, Bell Textron, and Embraer.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Barring the unexpected, nuclear energy will soon be recognized as climate-friendly investment in the European Union. It cannot be said that all observers are in agreement with the policy.

Nuclear power plants can produce large amounts of stable energy. The output of a single power plant in the United States can provide power to upwards of a million people. At present, about 72% of France’s energy is provided by nuclear.

Moreover, nuclear power produces seventy times less carbon dioxide than coal, and forty times less than gas. It releases a similar amount of carbon as wind energy, and four times less than solar. In many ways it is equal or even superior to other “green” energy sources.

On the other hand, nuclear power has long been a target of environmental organizations such as Greenpeace. Major disasters such as Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi have associated this form of energy with radioactive contamination of the oceans and the natural landscape. This has badly damaged its reputation as environmentally responsible technology.

Lobby organizations such as the World Nuclear Association, however, are keen to stress that such disasters are extremely rare, and have resulted in considerably less grave outcomes than initially predicted.

Still–taking the case the of Fukushima–a huge area of land has undergone extensive radiation decontamination measures such as the total replacement of topsoil with crushed granite. Tens of thousands of local residents have been displaced, some of them for more than a decade. Lives have been lost through such disruption of normal activities.

Anti-nuclear campaigners also point out that power plants are vulnerable to military conflicts and acts of sabotage, including cyberattacks. This vulnerability was most recently demonstrated during the Russian invasion of Ukraine when heavy fighting took place at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station as well as at the site of the Chernobyl disaster.

Another argument against embracing nuclear power as green energy concerns the unresolved issue of the disposal of nuclear waste.

A standard nuclear power plant produces three cubic meters of waste per year. In the United States alone, two thousand cubic meters of waste is produced annually, most of which remains stored at the plants themselves. Presently, there is no universally agreed solution for the safest and most effective means for final disposal, storage, or reuse of radioactive waste.

This problem might be mitigated by recycling the waste into reusable fuel, as is commonly done in France and the United Kingdom. Uranium, for example, retains about 95% of its potential energy even after it is used a first time.

In respect to the climate crisis, some environmental campaigners argue that nuclear is simply too slow to effectively combat rising global temperatures and avoid catastrophe–it takes many years to design, approve, and build new nuclear plants.

The costs of building new power plants are also quite substantial. While it varies by country, the average price tag is about US$9 billion for a 1.1GW facility. In some cases, costs can more than double. Operating costs are also not cheap. For poorer countries, nuclear power may simply be out of reach from a financial perspective.

Finally, it should also be mentioned that nuclear weapons proliferation concerns have been used to stall the development of civilian nuclear power plants in countries such as Iran.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The Renewable Energy Institute (REI), a non-profit organization based in Tokyo, recently released a report outlining the challenges Europe and Japan face regarding their energy security. According to the report, the greatest challenge comes from unsustainable reliance on fossil fuel imports.

This dependence leaves economies in both regions vulnerable to international price fluctuations and disruptions in the supply chain–a weakness well illustrated by current events.

In the case of Europe, countries in the region relied heavily on Russia for imports of gas, coal, and oil. As a consequence of the invasion of Ukraine, these countries now face difficult decisions about abandoning their long-standing trade partner, and the disruption to the supply chain caused by the conflict has driven the prices up.

For Japan, too, fossil fuel import costs have reached record highs in recent months, doubling for liquified natural gas and tripling for coal.

To address such vulnerabilities and to improve energy security, the REI report recommends Europe and Japan to restructure their energy strategies around renewables, as the technology is abundant and cost-competitive in comparison to fossil fuels.

Many countries, particularly in Europe, have already begun shifting their focus to renewable energy. Germany has made the most impressive commitment, announcing in March that it intends to pursue a goal of 100% decarbonization by 2035.

Japan has made a similar promise to decarbonize, but, unlike Germany, has set its target year at 2050 instead of 2035, a goal REI criticizes as “terribly unambitious.”

According to the report, Japan’s current energy strategy is insufficient to reach even its unimpressive 2050 decarbonization target. REI is therefore urging the country to follow the lead of Europe and to adopt a more aggressive policy towards renewable energy.

In terms of energy security, it is important to note that transitioning to a renewable energy-based power sector involves its own challenges. Many renewable energy technologies, such as solar and wind, depend on environmental conditions such as weather. Consequently, the power these technologies generate is often inconsistent, producing either insufficient or excess energy at various times.

The report offers several solutions to this problem, ranging from stored energy in lithium-ion batteries to creating interconnected networks between regions in order to share excess energy when needed. This solution is already well established in Europe.

Another concern regarding renewable energy is that many of the materials and manufacturers required to build components for the associated technologies, such as solar panels and wind turbines, are concentrated in specific countries, including China, and this could become another dimension of supply chain vulnerability.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s plan to mandate the installation of solar panels in all newly-built houses and other “small- to medium-sized” buildings in the city is facing criticism that the policy remains in an immature state.

The initiative, still in the deliberation phase, would see the city’s fifty largest housing providers be required to install solar panels on all new construction projects with a floor area of less than 2,000 square meters.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike argues that this policy will form an integral part of the metropolis’ target of halving emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. She hopes the installations will go some way toward mitigating residential emissions, which form 30% of the city’s total.

Officials also suggest the merits of the plan extend beyond environmental issues. Detached houses with two or more people could expect to see power bill savings of ¥92,400 (US$675) per year.

However, critics argue that the policy is being forced through without thinking through all of its implications.

One problem these critics cite is the financial burden on ordinary citizens. The base cost of installing a new solar panel is estimated to be around ¥1 million (US$7,300). Observers fear these costs will be passed on to home buyers.

For its part, the metropolitan government asserts that various cost-saving measures are under consideration, and this will alleviate such concerns.

Additionally, while solar panels undoubtedly provide green energy, some critics believe that the recycling of panels after their thirty years of service has not been given due attention by the authorities.

So far, the Tokyo government has suggested that centers for “solar power generation equipment” recycling will be established, but it has not provided further detail.

At any event, the metropolitan government has been keen to stress the “flexible” nature of its policy. Governor Koike, in a speech before the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, stated that “individuals can choose whether or not to install the equipment,” suggesting that there may be exceptions to the mandate under some circumstances.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Toyota and its smart city project, Woven City, have released a portable hydrogen cartridge product intended to be a key source of energy for residents.

The cartridge is one of many new technologies to be tested at the developing community located at the base of Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Much like the city itself, the portable hydrogen cartridge is aimed at improving the quality, diversity, and effectiveness of clean energy that can be used by individuals, companies, and governments alike.

Weighing in at just 5 kilograms and with a size just 40 centimeters in length and 18 centimeters in diameter, the cartridge is described as a source of “convenient energy that makes it possible to bring hydrogen to where people live, work, and play without the use of pipes.”

Through a joint agreement between Toyota and Eneos Corporation, a Japanese petroleum company, carbon-free hydrogen refueling stations will be built and provided nearby the smart city.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Although Japanese airlines have been experimenting with sustainable aviation fuel for over a decade, the country’s uptake of the fuel has remained sluggish.

Sustainable aviation fuel is most commonly made from feedstocks, such as cooking oil or waste oils derived from animals and plants. Waste from households and businesses are also used, and include materials like plastic, cardboard, and food scraps. In contrast, traditional jet fuel is usually made from kerosene and gasoline, which are fossil-fuel based.

Beyond Petroleum (known commonly as BP) reports that using sustainable aviation fuel can reduce lifecycle carbon emissions by up to 80%. However, this largely depends on effective government and corporate support.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) recommended that Japanese airlines reduce their carbon emissions by replacing 10% of jet fuel consumed with sustainable fuel by 2030.

Of course, this means that even if Japanese airlines meet this goal, 90% of jet fuel will still be carbon-emissions heavy.

According to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), between 2012 and 2019, carbon emissions from the country’s aircraft transportation sector amounted to roughly 10 million metric tons annually. If MLIT’s target is reached by 2030, and this trend continues, that means the Japanese aircraft industry would still be producing 9 million metric tons of carbon each year.

One of the most prominent concerns in the sustainable aviation fuel market is cost of production. According to Simple Flying, an aviation news service, “In 2020, the overall cost of jet fuel was [US$0.5] per liter. Meanwhile, the cost of [sustainable aviation fuel] was [US$1.1] per liter.” This means that sustainable aviation fuel costs more than double the price of traditional jet fuel.

AirInsight Group, a commercial aviation news and analysis firm, has proposed that in order for Japan’s airline industry to become net zero, 2.5 billion liters of sustainable aviation fuel will be needed in 2050. In contrast, the fuel accounts for just 0.03% of current demand.

Japan Airlines (JAL) recently agreed, as part of its membership in the Oneworld Alliance, to purchase over 20 million liters of sustainable aviation fuel annually from 2027-2032. The fuel will be purchased from US-based biofuel company Gevo.

While the production lifecycle of sustainable aviation fuel may emit less carbon compared to traditional jet fuel, some emissions will remain.

ICF, a global advisory and digital services provider, warns that–in addition to its own emissions during flight–sustainable aviation fuel may also involve emissions during transportation, if the vehicles used and their fuel sources are not carbon neutral.

Furthermore, there is concern that if demand for plant-based feedstocks grows, agricultural problems and deforestation rates could also increase.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Vestas Japan has announced that the first offshore turbine has been installed at the Akita Noshiro Offshore Wind Project, Japan’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm.

The plan calls for a total of thirty-three 4.2MW Vestas wind turbines, totaling 140MW of capacity, to be installed off the coast of Akita Prefecture. One group will be near Akita Port and the other near Noshiro Port.

This offshore wind farm is set to power the annual consumption of nearly 130,000 homes once it becomes fully operational near the end of this year.

The developer, Akita Offshore Wind Corporation, is a consortium of thirteen Japanese firms led by the Marubeni Corporation.

The electricity generated by the farm will be supplied to the Tohoku Electric Power Company, which holds a twenty-year power purchase agreement.

The completion of this project is expected to mark a significant milestone in Japan’s transition toward renewable energy.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Carbon offsetting is hailed by many as a potential answer to much of the world’s greenhouse gas emission concerns, but many believe it is utilized only as a means to not engage in more serious climate action.

Carbon offsetting refers to either a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, with a particular focus on carbon dioxide, or storing the gas in a way that compensates for such emissions.

The buying and selling of “carbon credits” to fund offset projects make up the carbon offset market, with one credit equaling one ton of carbon dioxide. These credits function as permits and allow companies to emit as much carbon dioxide as the credits are worth and then claim that their operations are “carbon neutral.”

Companies often use these credits, which can be bought and sold, to theoretically cancel out their greenhouse gas emissions and to comply with carbon caps.

China has the largest offsets market in the world and is comprised of over 4.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions–an impressive feat considering that the country’s emissions trading system (commonly referred to as ETS) was introduced only a year ago. By comparison, the European Union has the second-largest emissions trading system in the world, launched in 2005, but is less than half that of China’s system.

Last month, Canada launched its own national offsets market.

In addition to funding initiatives such as reforestation programs, carbon offsetting supports additional avenues for investment into renewable energy technologies and infrastructure. Renewable energy is an increasingly common form of carbon offsetting and essentially “cancels out” a proportion of the carbon dioxide emitted by the buyer.

Australian environmental markets investor and developer GreenCollar further describes carbon offsets as “an effective way for businesses to quantify environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments.”

However, the carbon offset market has also been widely criticized and likened to a form of greenwashing.

Earth.org, a think tank headquartered in Hong Kong, warns that investing in carbon offsetting instead of taking steps to reduce in-house emissions undermines a genuine effort to achieve strong decarbonization results.

In fact, the concept of being able to buy and trade carbon credits itself has been called into question. Some–as reported by Means & Matters, an online publication of the sustainable investment-focused Bank of the West–object to the idea that large corporations can essentially “buy their way out.” Wealthy companies are able to avoid taking more direct and immediate actions towards cutting their greenhouse gas emissions while still claiming to be working towards zero net emissions targets and describing themselves as “carbon neutral.”

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Enpower Greentech, which is developing next-generation batteries for drones and electric vehicles, announced that its Series A fundraising has now reached US$35 million.

The latest round of financial contributions were led by Sequoia China, Dayone Capital, GAC Capital, BR Capital, Tianqi Capital, and Niuli Venture.

These funds will be used for solid-state battery commercialization, including production line set up, product enhancement, and market expansion.

Collaborating with the SoftBank Group and other firms, Enpower Greentech possesses development and manufacturing centers in Japan, China, and the United States.

The firm claims to be at the leading edge of commercializing lithium metal anode-based batteries and sulfide-electrolyte-based all-solid-state batteries.

Near the end of this year, Enpower plans to begin commercial shipments of its lithium metal batteries to drone manufacturers, enhancing their performance.

The Japan branch–Enpower Japan–was established near Shinagawa Station in Tokyo in February 2018, and is closely affiliated with the Tokyo Institute of Technology as well as SoftBank.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — In the month since forces loyal to Japanese casino mogul Kazuo Okada took over by force the major casino resort Okada Manila from Tokyo-based Universal Entertainment Corporation, the stalemate has continued.

The Okada group remains in physical control of the US$3.3 billion casino resort, but Universal Entertainment’s local subsidiary Tiger Resort, Leisure & Entertainment, Inc. (TRLEI) claims to have the legitimate board of directors.

Lawsuits are underway to resolve the various disputes—the main leadership question before the Supreme Court of the Philippines as well as the claims associated with the violence employed by the Okada group when they suddenly seized the casino resort on May 31.

For its part, TRLEI claimed success a couple weeks ago in convincing three Philippine banks to freeze the Okada Manila accounts, depriving the Okada group of funds it needs and, as they put it, “casting doubt on its operational stability after its cage money runs dry.”

The Okada group responded that such actions have “no effect at all on Okada Manila’s commitment to its partners and valued patrons.”

This entire drama in the Philippines has taken place at the same time as Universal Entertainment was in the midst of applying to have the Okada Manila resort listed on the US Nasdaq stock exchange through a merger with the special purpose acquisition company 26 Capital Acquisition Corporation.

Universal Entertainment continues to project confidence that its ownership rights to the Okada Manila casino resort will ultimately be recognized and that the Okada group will be ejected from the premises, but that is ultimately a matter for decision by the Southeast Asian nation’s Supreme Court.

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Akihabara News (Tokyo) — After much pressure from environmental organizations and international criticism, the Japanese government finally promised on May 27 to eliminate direct public financing for fossil fuel plants abroad, especially coal, but this does not mean the nation is now near the forefront of tackling the climate crisis.

Japan’s promise came in the context of a G7 meeting of climate, energy, and environment ministers who met in Berlin to discuss the issues.

The government followed up with practical action on June 22 with an announcement that it was pulling financing for coal-fired Indramayu plant in Indonesia and the Matarbari plant in Bangladesh.

Environmentalists point out, however, that no target date for domestic coal phaseouts was provided by the G7 ministers, including Japan’s representatives, casting doubt on the seriousness of their commitment.

Under the current Strategic Energy Plan, published in October 2021, Japan intends to utilize coal for 19% of its domestic energy at the end of this decade.

The G7 ministers also pledged to “predominantly” decarbonize their power sectors by 2035–a crucial means to maintain Paris Agreement goals, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Nevertheless, as pointed out in a recent briefing for journalists by Dave Jones, Global Programme Lead at Ember, a global energy think tank, even the term “predominantly” provides nations with substantial wiggle room to avoid precise commitments.

While the IEA views the term “predominantly” as indicating the use of about 98% clean energy, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has stated that its own interpretation of the term means anything more than 50%.

This suggests that in spite of the G7 ministers’ show of unity, Japan’s climate pledges remain far behind that of other advanced economies.

According to the current national plans, Japan intends to use fossil fuels for about 42% of its energy mix in 2030.

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