Kazunari Hanawa

Sep 20, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Kazunari Hanawa |Ayaka Otaka |Ryosuke Matsuzoe

TOKYO -- The removal of melted fuel rods at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has run into another round of difficulties from equipment malfunctions and delays, threatening to push back the 2051 full decommissioning time line even further. "From our perspective, we have only paused work," an official from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the plant, said at a news conference Thursday. "We want to proceed with the work with safety as our priority."

Aug 31, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Kazunari Hanawa

TOKYO -- The Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese President Xi Jinping's signature international infrastructure building program, may have hit snags with some projects, but China's massive green energy push is helping it gain geopolitical and economic influence. China is a global leader in developing technology aimed at reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.

Apr 3, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Kazunari Hanawa |Ryosuke Matsuzoe

TOKYO -- The Japanese government plans to start field testing clean hydrogen production using nuclear power as soon as 2028, Nikkei has learned, with the move following a successful safety test of a next-generation reactor last week. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) tested the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) in Ibaraki prefecture on Mach 28. The trial was conducted in conjunction with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Feb 7, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Kazunari Hanawa |Takashi Tsuji |Ryosuke Hanafusa

TOKYO/BRUSSELS/HOUSTON -- The ambitious climate plan recently unveiled by the European Union appears to double as a call to bolster the region's renewable energy industry against competition from low-cost China. The European Commission on Tuesday released a proposal to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 90% from the level in 1990 by 2040.

Dec 7, 2023 | asia.nikkei.com | Kazunari Hanawa

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Negotiators at the COP 28 climate summit will tackle the contentious question of whether and how to end the use of fossil fuels at ministerial sessions starting Friday, an issue that pits advanced nations against emerging economies.