By Stanley White TOKYO, July 17 (Reuters) - Japan and the European Union signed a wide-ranging free trade deal on Tuesday that both sides hope will act as a counterweight to the protectionist forces unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The ambitious trade pact, which creates the world's largest open economic area, comes amid fears that a trade war between the United … [Read more...]
China Sails Past Japan to Become World’s Largest Buyer of Natural Gas
By Dan Murtaugh (Bloomberg) -- China’s drive for cleaner skies has pushed it past Japan to become the world’s largest buyer of natural gas, a milestone for a nation that wasn’t even importing the fuel 15 years ago. The development underscores how rapidly China is boosting natural gas use at the expense of dirtier fuels like oil and coal to meet President Xi Jinping’s … [Read more...]
Tiny Japan Shipping Shares Jump On North Korea Detente Hopes
by Yoshiyuki Osada (Reuters) - Shares of small Japanese shippers jumped this week after the historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sparked hopes of news business ties with the reclusive country. Japanese retail investors are snatching up shares of the firms that may benefit from a potential thaw between Tokyo and Pyongyang, … [Read more...]
Japan Says Suspected Chinese Ship Spotted Breaking North Korea Sanctions
TOKYO, May 29 (Reuters) - Japan on Tuesday said it had detected what appeared to be a Chinese-flagged vessel, 350 km (218 miles) off Shanghai, conducting illegal transfers to a North Korean ship. "Following a comprehensive assessment, the government of Japan strongly suspects that they conducted ship-to-ship transfers banned by UNSCR," Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs … [Read more...]
Japan’s Sumitomo Eyes Ship-to-Ship LNG Bunkering in Tokyo Bay
OKYO (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp says it signed a memorandum with Uyeno Transtech Ltd and Yokohama-Kawasaki International Port Corp for a joint study on ship-to-ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering in Tokyo Bay. The three firms will jointly study the commercial feasibility of services using LNG bunkering vessels, Sumitomo said in a statement The … [Read more...]