Gerhard Fasol.

Category: Energy

  • Energy costs and electricity in post-Fukushima Japan

    Energy costs and electricity in post-Fukushima Japan

    Energy costs in Japan: A presentation to diplomats from the 28 EU countries (+ Norway and Switzerland) given at the EU Delegation in Tokyo on Thursday 18 May 2017

    How can you reduce your energy bills?

    Energy costs in Japan, how to reduce energy costs, and the current energy situation in Japan post-Fukushima are inherently linked and are the topics of this talk given by Gerhard Fasol at the EU Delegation (EU Embassy) in Tokyo on Thursday 19 May 2017.

    Electricity prices in Japan compared to EU countries. Electricity charges in Japan are about 40% cheaper than in Germany.

    Energy costs in Japan: Even now, post-Fukushima, electricity costs in Japan are not particularly high, if Japan was a EU country, Japan’s electricity costs would be ranked at about 15th or 16th rank.

    Japan’s electricity charges are about 40% cheaper than in Germany, and on a similar level as in France or UK.

    • Ireland c€59.01
    • Germany c€40.28
    • Spain c€37.26
    • Sweden c€36.11
    • Portugal c€33.41
    • Denmark c€32.78
    • Czech Republic c€31.92
    • Cyprus c€31.79
    • Austria c€29.88
    • Finland c€29.20
    • Italy c€26.61
    • Slovakia c€26.30
    • France c€25.09
    • Luxembourg c€24.29
    • Croatia c€23.10
    • Japan c€23
    • Slovenia c€22.68
    • UK c€20.19
    • Poland c€18.80
    • Hungary c€18.35
    • ….

    (source: Eurostat as of July 2013, energy costs in Japan: electricity costs for Japan are typical Tokyo household electricity charges)

    Paradigm shift: redesign the electricity grid

    We see a paradigm shift: we need to change how we think about energy. Our electricity supply system has been built over the last more than 100 years and many design principles have been decided 100 years and have then been frozen in, although they might not be the best choices any more in today’s world.

    Traditional electricity grids are designed top-down, with large centralized power stations at the top, and a distribution system down to the end users.

    This traditional hierarchical top->down integrated grid structure is globally in the process of reinvention. The different services:

    1. generation
    2. transport
    3. grid frequency stabilization
    4. distribution

    are being split into separate businesses, and each one is being deregulated. In addition, the top-down structure is changed: renewable energy sources, micro-hydropower station and other sources feed electricity into the grid from the bottom-up, requiring changes in the design and management of power grids.

    In Japan the traditional electricity grid has three hierarchical layers:

    1. Special high voltage (特別高圧)
      1. 500kV, 270kV, 140kV
      2. 60kV
      3. 20kV
    2. High voltage (高圧) 6kV
    3. Low voltage (低圧) 200V, 100V

    These three markets (1) Special high voltage, (2) High Voltage, (3) Low voltage, are approximately of equal size in Japan, and represent each about 1/3 of Japan’s electricity market. The (3) Low voltage market was deregulated on April 1, 2016, and the other two market sectors earlier. Up to March 31, 2016, 10 regional electricity operators had the monopoly in the retail (low voltage) sector of their regions. Since April 1, 2016, all markets are liberated and low voltage segment consumers are free to buy their electricity from a number of suppliers.

    50Hz/60Hz

    Electricity started in Japan in 1893:

    • The first generator in Tokyo was from the German firm AEG, and therefore 50Hz
    • The first generator in Osaka was from the US firm General Electric, and therefore 60Hz

    Event today the west of Japan has 60Hz, while the east has 50Hz. Since semiconductor electronics enables frequency conversion, and since long distance transport is frequently DC anyway, this 50Hz/60Hz split is very unlikely to change.

    AC/DC

    For historic reasons, most electricity is delivered to end customers as AC (alternating current), however most consumption today is increasingly DC (direct current). e.g. LED lighting, computers and most IT equipment including data centers require DC electricity. Solar power plants also produce DC electricity. Battery storage also requires and delivers DC electricity. So we might see an increasing shift to DC electricity supplies.

    How to reduce your energy bill

    Energy costs in Japan: in the past urban design typically maximized electricity sales:

    • “All Denka” was a long-term campaign by Japan’s electricity industry to maximize the consumption of electricity
    • design model:
      • build the town in order to sell as much electricity/air-conditioners/gas as possible
      • top-down: huge nuclear power stations far away + top-down distribution system
      • single windows, save money on insulation
      • heating in winter, air conditioning in summer

    In the future

    • communities, companies and household take responsibility of energy locally
    • “positive energy buildings”: buildings generate and sell electricity instead of consuming. Example: MORI-Roppongi Hills
    • THINK: Marunouchi & MORI Buildings: “we want to be so well prepared for disasters, that people don’t run from our buildings, but that people come to our buildings for safety”
    • take responsibility!

    How to reduce your energy bill > earn money selling electricity

    • cut consumption
      • Insulate
      • buy low-energy equipment, e.g. air-conditioner, washing machine
      • LEDs instead of bulbs and fluorescent tubes
      • energy management system
    • generate electricity:
      • solar, wind, heat-exchangers, heat-pumps, co-generation
      • fuel cells (e.g. Bloom (gas), or Enefarm, Panasonic) > off-grid
    • negotiate supply contracts, combine gas & electricity & phone/internet to get discounts
      • e.g. all three major phone companies (KDDI, Docomo, SoftBank) sell electricity, internet access etc + electricity. Combine: phone, internet, electricity to get discounts.

    Nature governs energy – nature cannot be fooled

    Today’s energy situation in Japan is directly a function of the outcome of the Fukushima-Dai-Ichi disaster.

    To understand the reasons for why the Fukushima-Dai-Ichi disaster happened, it is necessary to go back in history, there is not one single reason for this nuclear disaster but many starting at the design decisions taken even before the construction started.

    It is instructive to compare the situation of TEPCO’s Fukushima-Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant with Tohoku Electric Power’s Onagawa nuclear power plant:

    • TEPCO’s Fukushima-Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant: tsunami height = 13 meters, one of the worst nuclear disasters
    • Tohoku Electric Power’s Onagawa nuclear power plant: tsunami height = 13 meters: successful shut down without damage, served as a refuge for about 300 people from the neighborhood who had lost their homes in the tsunami and earthquake disasters

    Why the difference?

    • TEPCO’s Fukushima-Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant: ground elevation was reduced from 35 meters to 10 meters to save cooling water pumping costs
    • Tohoku Electric Power’s Onagawa nuclear power plant: Yanosuke Hirai carefully research previous tsunamis, especially the Great Jogan Tsunami of July 13, AD 869, built 13.8 meters above sea level

    Read in detail in our review of the Fukushima and Tohoku disasters, 6 years after, our blog of March 11, 2017:
    https://www.eurotechnology.com/2017/03/11/tohoku-disaster-6-years/

    A few days after the Fukushima-Dai-Ichi disaster, US President Obama sent 150 top nuclear engineers to Japan for 11 months to assist directly the Japanese Prime Minister and the Japanese Government and TEPCO to mitigate the nuclear disaster. The Leader of this team of 150 US nuclear experts was Chuck Casto, who I invited two times to talk at the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum events. Read Chuck Casto’s explanations of the Fukushima Disaster here:

    I also invited the Kiyoshi Kurokawa, the former Chairman of Japan’s Parliamentary Commission into the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, to speak at the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum:
    Kiyoshi Kurokawa: “Groupthink can kill” (6th Ludwig Boltzmann Forum 20 February 2014)

    Summary

    • Nature governs energy, and nature cannot be fooled (Richard Feynman)
    • Global trend: reengineering the grid. Localize, democratize, liberalize, deregulate
    • Renewable energy: wind power can cover all of Japan’s energy needs (in principle)
    • Energy, electricity and gas market liberalization is going ahead

    Interview in The Economist:

    Japan energy market report:

    Japan energy markets (21st edition)

    Preview “Renewable energy Japan” research report

    Renewable energy Japan (9th edition)

    Copyright (c) 2017 by Eurotechnology Japan. All Rights Reserved.

  • Keep fit and save electricity: climb the stairs the geeky way

    Keep fit and save electricity: climb the stairs the geeky way

    Keep fit and save electricity

    Geeky way to persuade people climb the stairs – see in in Tokyo/Shibuya

    Its not easy to persuade people to climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

    Tokyu Hands store in Shibuya found a geeky way to persuade people to Keep fit and save electricity at the same time:

    Show the calories your body burns walking up the stairs, which should help you loose weight – and save on the store’s electricity bill at the same time.

    After the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the closure of all of Japan’s nuclear power stations, saving electricity has become a top priority. In Tokyo’s subway and trains fluorescent lighting has been replaced by LED lighting, some fluorescent tubes have been removed, and some elevators were at least temporarily shut down to save electricity – in Japanese: 節電. The Tokyu Hands Store in Shibuya found a geeky way to encourage customers to keep fit, burn calories, climb the stairs, and save electricity all at the same time.

    Keep fit and save electricity: geeky way to encourage people to climb stairs and save electricity, seen in Tokyo at Tokyu Hands Shibuya store
    Keep fit and save electricity: geeky way to encourage people to climb stairs and save electricity, seen in Tokyo at Tokyu Hands Shibuya store

    Copyright (c) 2014 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved

  • Japan’s new energy policy – interview by The Economist

    Japan’s new energy policy – interview by The Economist

    Japan’s new energy policy: interview for The Economist on YouTube

    Japan’s new energy policy – Gerhard Fasol interview by The Economist
    Japan’s new energy policy – Gerhard Fasol interview by The Economist

    Japan’s new energy policy – interview outline:

    Japan’s new energy policy Question: Is the new energy policy of Japan’s Government an appropriate response to the situation or a missed opportunity

    Answer summery:The Government in its new strategy summarizes Japan’s energy situation and proposes a cocktail of different energy sources. Everyone knows that Prime Minister Abe is pro-nuclear energy, but that does not mean that he is against other energy sources, such as renewables. The new energy strategy paper though misses KPIs, Key Performance Indicators. There are no many numerical targets.

    Japan’s new energy policy Question: It is often repeated that Japan is poor in energy sources, is this true?

    Answer summery:It is often repeated that Japan is poor in energy sources. This is only true as long as we restrict our view to traditional carbon based primary energy sources such as oil, gas, or coal. But if we widen the view to renewables such as wind, water, solar, biomass, and geo-thermal energy sources, then Japan is actually very rich in primary energy sources, and could even aim for energy self-sufficiency. Off-shore wind alone would be sufficient to make Japan energy self-sufficient.
    Just by repeating the statement many times, that Japan is poor in energy sources, does not make this statement true.

    The new energy policy paper also starts out by saying the Japan is poor in primary energy sources. This is not true if we widen the view to renewable energy sources.

    Japan’s new energy policy Question: Re-engineering the electricity grid. Can you explain the concept?

    Answer summery:The electricity grid has evolved over many years, maybe 100-150 years. The traditional architecture of the electricity grid is a top-down one-way distribution network from large central power station such as large coal-, gas- or oil-fired power stations or nuclear power stations, to consumers. The traditional electricity grid is similar to the arteries in the human body, where there is the heart in the center, and the arteries distribute the blood to the extremities. This traditional top-down grid has served us very well for a long time, but the time as come now to evolve the grid to the next stage. There will be more distributed power generation, which feed in electricity in the opposite direction from the extremities, and there will be more intelligence in the grid.

    Japan’s new energy policy Question: How do you see Japan deal in the future with supply and demand manages, how do you see electricity prices evolve in Japan?

    Answer summery:With the liberalization there will be more flexibility in the pricing of electricity and supply and demand management. Prices will not necessarily go down, but will depend much more on the timing of demand, on demand/supply management, or on the value of electricity. For example, mission critical electricity consumers such as data centers or hospitals will need a different type of electricity supply, than washing machines in households. Demand/supply management and smart grid will manage the timing of less critical electricity usage.

    Economist briefing “Keeping the lights on – deregulation, new and renewables and Japan’s energy mix” handouts

    The interview is based on our reports:

    Japan energy markets (21st edition)
    Renewable energy Japan (9th edition)

    Copyright (c) 2014 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved

  • Briefing the Trade Minister of Sweden, Dr. Ewa Björling, on Japan’s energy sector (22 Nov 2013)

    Lunch today (22 Nov 2013) with the Trade Minister of Sweden, Dr. Ewa Björling, chaired by the Ambassador of Sweden. Was asked to brief Minister Björling and a delegation of Swedish CEOs about Japan’s energy sector. Gave Minister Björling a 20 minutes presentation followed by discussion.

    Dr. Ewa Björling is extremely impressive, she is dentist, teaches virology at Karolinska Institutet, is Deputee of Rikstaget (the Parliament of Sweden), and Trade Minister of Sweden. According to Dr. Ewa Björling’s website, she plans to double Sweden’s exports within five years.

    My presentation to Minister Dr Ewa Björling was based on our reports on
    Renewable energy in Japan and
    Japan’s energy sector

    A few months ago, I was invited to discuss Japan’s energy sector with the Energy and Natural Resources Minister of Canada, Mr Joe Oliver, see here.

    Copyright (c) 2013 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved

  • Pricing of gas imports – Why does Japan pay so much more than any other major country for gas imports?

    Pricing of gas imports – Why does Japan pay so much more than any other major country for gas imports?

    Was invited today to take part in a discussion meeting at one of the European Embassies about pricing of Gas (LNG) imports.

    All the major Japanese buyers of LNG from the major electricity and gas companies came together with European partners to discuss issues of import Gas (LNG) pricing.

    For detailed statistics of Japan’s gas (LNG, LPG) imports, and why Japan pays so much more than any other major country for LNG read our Report on Japan’s energy sector

    Copyright (c) 2013 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved

  • Electricity deregulation in Japan

    Was invited today to take part in discussions about electricity deregulation in Japan at one of the European Embassies.

    Participants in the discussions were representatives from major Japanese electricity companies, the director for electricity deregulation of Japan’s Ministry for Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and European experts on electricity deregulation.

    For an overview of Electricity Deregulation in Japan read our report on Japan’s Electricity Industry sector.

  • Japan’s Energy – Myths vs Reality, Mantra vs Smart

    Japan’s Energy – Myths vs Reality, Mantra vs Smart

    Stockholm School of Economics at the Embassy of Sweden

    European Institute of Japanese Studies EIJS

    Gerhard Fasol
    Gerhard Fasol

    European Institute of Japanese Studies Academy Seminars presents:

    “Japan’s Energy – Myths vs Reality, Mantra vs Smart”

    Speaker: Dr. Gerhard Fasol, President, Eurotechnology Japan K.K.
    Time: Wednesday, June 19th, 2013
    Location: Alfred Nobel Auditorium, Embassy of Sweden

    About the talk:

    Japan’s electricity companies earn about US$ 200 billion annually in revenues, and until the Fukushima nuclear accident, about 30% of energy was generated by nuclear power plants, which are currently switched off except for two nuclear plants in Kansai region. Renewable energy sectors expect the rapid built-up of renewable sources in Japan to continue, ie; solar energy, wind, geo-thermal and other sources to follow. METI is also working on liberalization of Japan’s energy markets. Japan’s energy sector undergoes rapid changes and presents large opportunities. In the presentation, we will hear some of the myths about electricity and energy in Japan, and the realities. We will also hear how foreign companies can succeed in Japan’s energy sector.

    About the speaker:

    Dr. Gerhard Fasol is physicist and entrepreneur who has worked since 1984 with Japan’s high-tech sector. He worked on the entrance strategies into Japan’s environmental and energy sector for one of Europe’s largest engineering multi-nationals, and for US investment funds and venture companies on market entry into Japan’s energy sector. Gerhard also builds the Ludwig Boltzmann Forum as a global leadership platform, see.

    Ludwig Boltzmann Forum: Energy – Entropy – Leadership

    Gerhard graduated with a PhD in Physics from Cambrige University/Trinity College. He was tenured faculty member in Physics at Cambridge University, and Associate Professor at Tokyo University’s Electrical Engineering Faculty and led a JST-Sakigake project on spin electronics before founding Eurotechnology Japan KK.

    Date: Wednesday, June 19th, 2013
    Time: 6.30 p.m. – 7.00 p.m. Drink & Snack (served before lecture)
    7.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. Lecture and Discussion

    Place: Alfred Nobel Auditorium, Embassy of Sweden
    10-3-400 Roppongi 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032
    Five-minute walk from Tokyo Metro Nanboku Line Roppongi 1-chome Station
    Five-minute walk from Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line Kamiya-cho Station

    Fee: JPY3,000 per person, payable at the door
    Free for those who are from sponsoring companies (*)
    Free for students, please bring your student ID
    Language: English

    (*) EIJS Academy 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 Sponsoring companies
    Gadelius Holding Ltd., Ericsson Japan K.K., Nihon Tetra Pak K.K., Sandvik K.K.,
    Höganäs Japan K.K. and in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden

    Please sign up by June 14th (Fri.)

    Announcement on the webpage of Stockholm School of Economics

    The talk is based of the following reports, which you might be interested in:

    Contact


      Copyright 2013-2019 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved

    • 5th Ludwig Boltzmann Symposium Tokyo 2013

      key note speakers

      “ENERGY”

      Wednesday, 20th February 2013, Embassy of Austria, Tokyo

      • 14:00 Welcome by Dr. Bernhard Zimburg, Ambassador of Austria to Japan
      • 14:10 Gerhard Fasol, “today’s agenda”
      • 14:20 – 14:40 Robert Geller
        Professor of Geophysics University of Tokyo, seismologist. First ever tenured non-Japanese faculty member at the University of Tokyo
        “A seismologist looks at nuclear power plant safety issues”
      • 14:40 – 15:20 Gerhard Fasol
        Physicist. CEO of Eurotechnology Japan KK, served as Assoc Professor at Tokyo University and Lecturer at Cambridge University and Manager of Hitachi Cambridge R&D lab
        “Ludwig Boltzmann – the disrespectful revolutionary”
      • 15:40 – 16:20 Kiyoshi Kurokawa
        Academic Fellow of GRIPS and former Chairman of Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission by National Diet of Japan
        “Creativity, Crazy Ones and Power of Pull”
      • 16:40 – 17:20 Shuji Nakamura
        Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara. Inventor of GaN LEDs and lasers, which are the basis for the global LED lighting revolution.
        “The global lighting revolution and the changes I want for Japan”
      • 17:20 – 17:30 Gerhard Fasol “Summary”
      • Followed by reception (private, invitation only)

      Registration: latest 10 February 2013 (by invitation only)

      Further information:
      Gerhard Fasol
      Peter Storer, Minister for Cultural Affairs, Embassy of Austria

      Summary

      Robert Geller: “A seismologist looks at nuclear power plant safety issues”

      Robert Geller gave an overview of large scale earthquakes and tsunamis in different regions of earth, and in history, and explained that large “Tohoku-2011” scale earth quakes and tsunamis do have a finite probability of striking Japan, and need to be taken in to account in the construction of structures such as nuclear power plants. Robert Geller in particular explained and emphasized the risks on the northern coast of Japan, facing the Sea of Japan.

      Gerhard Fasol: “Ludwig Boltzmann – the disrespectful revolutionary”

      Gerhard Fasol reviewed Ludwig Boltzmann’s life and work, and particular Boltzmann’s efforts to promote open discussion and to destroy dogmatic views, most importantly the rejection of atoms by Oswald’s school of “energetics” and Mach. Ludwig Boltzmann’s work is fundamental in many areas of today’s physics, technology, IT, energy and in many other fields. As a demonstration of Ludwig Boltzmann’s work linking the macrosopic face of Entropy with the statistical properties of atoms and molecules, Gerhard Fasol explained today’s state of development of electrical power production from the entry of mixing of water with different concentrations of salts, from salinity gradients. “Osmotic powerplants”, which are directly based on Boltzmann’s work on the Entropy of mixing, have the potential to be developed into a very important contribution to our future renewable energy mix, although much research still remains to be done, especially in the area of semipermeable membranes.

      Kiyoshi Kurokawa: “Creativity, Crazy Ones and Power of Pull – Uncertain Times: Changing Principles”

      Kiyoshi Kurokawa laid out the rapid and dramatic changes we are currently facing in our world: the development of the global information revolution, revolutions towards democracy in the arab world, the Sept-11 terror attacks, and the triple disaster in Tohoku in March 2011. As short summary of the information revolution, linked with other major developments of global impact:

      web 1.0: 1991-2000 – end of cold war, world wide web, globalization and financial crises: 1990, 1992, 1997

      web 2.0: 2001-2010 – 9.11, digital age, wireless, touch panel, growth of emerging economies, BRICs, global financial crisis 2007, and President Barak Obama

      web 3.0: 2011- – Arab Spring, and March-11 Tohoku disaster

      Paradigm shift of The Principles (Joi Ito, MIT Media Lab, and Kiyoshi Kurokawa, GRIPS):

      The principles 1:
      RESILIENCE instead of strength
      RISK instead of safety
      SYTEMS instead of objects

      The principles 2:
      COMPASSES instead of maps
      PULL instead of push
      PRACTICE instead of theory

      The principles 3:
      DISOBEDIENCE instead of compliance
      CROWDS instead of experts
      LEARNING instead of education

      For his work as former Chairman of Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission by National Diet of Japan, Kiyoshi Kurokawa was recently awarded the “Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award” by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Kiyoshi Kurokawa paid particular attention for the deliberations and fact finding by the Independent Investigation Commission was open and transparent, and published globally in Japanese and in English in many different forms. The report itself can be downloaded here: http://warp.da.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/3856371/naiic.go.jp/index.html

      Kiyoshi Kurokawa emphasised the contribution of “Regulatory Capture” to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Important work on “Regulatory Capture” was done by US economist George Stigler, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1982. Kiyoshi Kurokawa emphasized that Regulatory Capture is not specific to Japan, there are many examples throughout the world.

      Shuji Nakamura: “The global lighting revolution and the changes I want for Japan”

      Shuji Nakamura briefly outlined his inventions of a long series of GaN based devices, GaN LEDs and lasers, which are the basis for the global lighting revolution, and for bluray storage technology. Shuji Nakamura gave us a passionate personal view of his work as a researcher, how he created and experienced the breakthroughs, and some consequences on his personal life. Shuji Nakamura explained how he was accused in a US court by his former employer, and how as a consequence in order to defend himself and his family, he saw himself forced to countersue his former employer in Japanese courts. Shuji Nakamura compared his situation as a researcher in Japan, and now in Santa Barbara, and made some suggestions for change for the position of researchers.

      Photos

      Contact


        Copyright Eurotechnology Japan KK. All Rights Reserved.

      • How can a European company succeed in Japan’s energy landscape? (EU-Japan Gateway keynote)

        I was invited to give a keynote talk to about 50 European participants in the EU-Japan Gateway program, which assists small and medium sized European companies to enter the Japanese market.

        My topic was “How can a European company succeed in Japan’s energy landscape?”

        I explained Japan’s energy situation today, based on our reports:
        Renewable energy in Japan
        Japan’s energy sector

        followed by some advice on how a European company can succeed in Japan, covering the following points:

        • you often need a taylor made solution for Japan
        • you need to understand the market, market landscape, need to do your market research
        • you need to understand the value of your product/service in Japan’s market
        • you need working capital to build business in Japan, somebody needs to invest this working capital: you, your investors, or in some cases Japanese partners, each option has advantages and disadvantages
        • some common mistakes – why business development in Japan can fail
        • some steps towards success
      • Briefing the Minister for Energy and Natural Resources of Canada, Mr Joe Oliver

        Briefing the Minister for Energy and Natural Resources of Canada, Mr Joe Oliver

        Was asked today (September 18, 2012) to be one of a group of about 5 Japanese experts – who I was asked to help select – to brief the Minister for Energy and Natural Resources of Canada, Mr Joe Oliver. We were asked to keep the conversation off-the-record, so I can’t write about the meeting.

        Minister Oliver visited Japan leading a delegation of about 100 Canadian Energy sector leaders, CEOs, Government Officials, and the confidential briefing and discussion about Japan’s energy sector among a small group of about 5 Japanese experts, the Ambassador and Minister Oliver, was followed by a large lunch with about 100 Japanese and Canadian energy leaders and CEOs.

        Presentation was based on our report on Japan’s energy sector.

        Copyright notice: Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License, Author Rocco Rossi) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_Oliver.JPG