Japan eyes next-gen geothermal tech that eases site limitations
TOKYO -- Mitsubishi Corp. and other Japanese companies are moving to adopt next-generation techniques for generating geothermal power that would broaden the scope of candidate sites, with an eye toward meeting growing electricity demand from data centers.
Geothermal power is normally generated by tapping naturally occurring sources of water and steam heated by magma. These sources of water are usually limited to locations such as hot springs or mountainous regions.
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The Mainichi
22 minutes ago
- The Mainichi
Tokyo stocks snap 4-day win streak on firmer yen, tariff uncertainty
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo stocks snapped a four-day winning streak Thursday, as exporters were hurt by a stronger yen and uncertainty over U.S. tariff negotiations. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 248.10 points, or 0.65 percent, from Wednesday at 38,173.09. The broader Topix index finished 5.75 points, or 0.21 percent, lower at 2,782.97. On the top-tier Prime Market, decliners were led by service, chemical and transportation equipment issues. The U.S. dollar weakened to the upper 143 yen range following a report that China is putting a six-month limit on export licenses for its rare earth exports to U.S. manufacturers, raising the prospect of further U.S.-China trade uncertainty, dealers said. Stocks gave way to profit-taking after the Nikkei gained more than 800 points over the last four trading days. The yen's strength pressured export-oriented automakers, whose overseas profits are boosted by a weaker currency. Shares in sectors with high oil demand such as airlines and steelmakers were sold on concern about rising energy costs as the key U.S. oil futures contract climbed amid growing tensions in the Middle East, analysts said. The uncertain outlook over U.S. tariff negotiations with its major trading partners also weighed on the market following the report about China's minerals exports and a remark by the Japanese prime minister that the country will not sacrifice its national interests to reach a deal quickly. "With prospects of tariff negotiations remaining unclear, investors were finding it difficult to take a risk-on approach," said Masahiro Yamaguchi, head of investment research at SMBC Trust Bank.
Japan Today
31 minutes ago
- Japan Today
Bessent says 90-day tariff pause could be extended for key partners
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Wednesday. The United States could extend a 90-day pause on the implementation of steep tariffs on goods from its major trading partners if they continue to negotiate "in good faith," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday. "It is highly likely that those countries -- or trading blocs as is the case with the EU -- who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue the good-faith negotiations," Bessent said during a congressional hearing. "If someone is not negotiating, then we will not." Bessent made the remarks when asked about the upcoming end of the pause in early July, while reiterating that President Donald Trump's administration has been in talks on deals with 18 important trading partners. Japan is one such partner that has been negotiating with the Trump administration at a fast pace, given that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump are slated to hold a one-on-one meeting in less than a week when they attend a Group of Seven summit in Canada. Japan's chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is due to hold his sixth round of talks with U.S. cabinet members on Friday in a last-ditch effort to find common ground before the G7 summit. It will be Akazawa's fourth straight week visiting Washington. Bessent's remarks marked the first time a high-ranking official of the administration has publicly hinted at its readiness to push the deadline beyond 90 days. Later Wednesday, Trump, who unveiled his so-called reciprocal "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2, told reporters, "I would but I don't think we're going to have that necessity," when asked about the possibility of extending the pause. It remains uncertain if the latest remarks by Trump and Bessent, a central figure dealing with tariff issues, will change the pace of the ongoing talks with Japan and some other trading partners. So far, the Trump administration has not reached as many agreements as it initially hoped. During the window for negotiations, the administration has been particularly focused on clinching trade deals with Japan and other major trading partners, including India, South Korea and the European Union. On Wednesday, Trump reaffirmed that the administration's priority remains unchanged, saying it is engaging with Japan, South Korea and other key trading partners. He added the administration does not have time to deal with more than 150 other countries, seen as less important for the United States, so it will unilaterally send out letters in "about a week and a half to two weeks" to inform them of what their trade deals would look like. He said they could accept or ignore the letters. The pause, which runs until July 8, only applies to country-specific tariffs under his reciprocal scheme, covering about 60 trading partners that have notable trade surpluses with the United States. It does not affect his baseline duty of 10 percent targeting imports from all parts of the world. Japan is facing an additional country-specific tariff of 14 percent, for a total rate of 24 percent. On top of the reciprocal tariffs, Japan, along with other countries, has been subject to new sector-specific tariffs on products such as automobiles and steel, which fall outside the scope of the pause. Ishiba and Akazawa have repeatedly said they will not rush into a deal with the United States at the expense of Japan's national interests. The two have urged the Trump administration to remove all of its additional tariffs on Japanese imports. But they have also suggested the need to reach some agreement with the administration as quickly as possible to prevent the measures from further impacting the Japanese economy. © KYODO
Japan Today
31 minutes ago
- Japan Today
Bento shop bankruptcies increasing as Japan's boxed lunch shops struggle in new dining landscape
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 Bento, boxed lunches, are practically a symbol of Japanese cuisine itself. A self-contained meal of rice and a number of meat, fish, or vegetable side dishes, they're a quick and convenient way to get a balanced meal, easily portable back to your office or home, and their packaging means you can even set the box down on your lap and eat it on a park bench if you don't have access to a table or desk when you're hungry. However, these are tough times for bento shops. According to business research organization Teikoku Databank, 22 bento shops filed for bankruptcy between January and May of this year. Not only is that more than the same period for 2024, if this pace keeps up for the rest of the year it'll be the highest annual number of bento shop bankruptcies Teikoku Databank, whose figures go back to 2010, has ever observed. So what's causing this? The researchers offer a few different explanations. Large orders of premium-priced bento for events such as business meetings, weddings, and funerals are down, but that's really more of a gradual societal trend away from serving fancy bento at such gatherings. People working from home also means less demand from office workers buying bento as an alternative to waiting for a seat at crowded business district restaurants during the lunch rush, but that wouldn't explain why we're seeing more bento shop bankruptcies in 2025 than we did during the pandemic, when even more people were teleworking. So really, it would seem that the biggest factor that Teikoku Databank mentions is rising costs for ingredients, especially rice. While bento can have all sorts of different side dishes, rice is the one common element they all have. If you've got no rice, you've got no bento, and with Japan currently grappling with the most sudden rice price increases in a generation, it's having a major effect on bento bottom lines. What makes the situation especially difficult is that even though bento are widely liked in Japan, most of them aren't necessarily loved. While special regional bento, sometimes with higher price tags, are popular with travelers as a novelty or special-occasion meal, when it comes to ordinary, everyday bento, you won't find nearly as many passionate fans as you will for things like ramen or beef bowls. Convenience and affordability are often the bigger parts of bento's appeal for would-be regular customers, so passing on increased ingredient costs as higher bento prices can erode demand, since there might not be such strong loyalty to how the food tastes, even if it does taste pretty good. That's putting bento shops in a situation similar to the one being faced by Japan's biggest curry rice restaurant chain. Their food hasn't traditionally been seen as a premium product, so if they raise their prices very much a significant number of customers are likely to say 'Eh, in that case I'll pass,' but keeping their prices low is making it difficult for many bento shops to make a profit. That doesn't mean it's bad news all around for bento shops, however. According to Teikoku Databank's researchers, 45 percent of bento shops had an increase to their profits in 2024. However, 30.2 percent saw their profits shrink, and 21.7 percent were operating in the red. Contributing to this feast-or-famine status is that larger bento shop chains are in a better position to manage their inventories to reduce losses from unsold bento or diversify their sales networks to tap into more pools of demand. Those are more difficult for smaller local bento shops to do, though, and so they're the ones who're facing the most danger in Japan's new dining landscape. Source: Teikoku Databank via Yahoo! Japan News via Hachima Kiko Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Japanese people demand that Gackt taste the government's old old old rice -- Musical ekiben adds a tune to your train station bento meal -- Tough times for Japanese pubs as izakaya bankruptcies come at highest rate in more than a decade External Link © SoraNews24
