News On Japan

The Circular Economy: From Deep Frying to Green Flying

OSAKA, Nov 25 (News On Japan) - Japan is on the verge of using leftover cooking oil to power airplanes. Universal Studios Japan has already adopted biodiesel, made from used cooking oil, to fuel boats in its popular attractions, signaling a shift towards sustainable energy.

A new plant in Sakai City, set to start operations next spring, will produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from used cooking oil. SAF reduces carbon emissions by up to 80% but costs significantly more than conventional jet fuel. The Japanese government aims to have SAF make up 10% of aviation fuel by 2030, but stable domestic production remains a challenge.

The biggest hurdle is collecting enough used cooking oil. Efforts include partnerships between local governments and companies to set up collection points for household oil. However, fierce competition from overseas SAF producers, offering higher prices, is complicating supply efforts.

Despite these challenges, the Sakai facility represents a major step toward decarbonizing Japan’s aviation industry, with public participation in recycling being key to achieving ambitious sustainability goals.

Source: KTV NEWS

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Southern Kyushu has entered the rainy season, marking the first time in 49 years that it has done so earlier than Okinawa. It is also the earliest rainy season start for any region in Japan since the Meteorological Agency began keeping records. Authorities are warning of heavy rainfall not only in Kyushu but across other parts of the country as well.

A road collapse in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture is expected to take five to seven years to fully restore, local officials said on Friday, following the recovery of a truck cab that had remained lodged in the sewer system since the January accident.

Eighty years have passed since the end of World War II, yet the memories of its fiercest battles continue to echo in the heart of Okinawa. The district of Omoromachi in central Naha, now a lively urban hub filled with people, was once the site of one of the bloodiest clashes of the Battle of Okinawa—the Battle of Sugar Loaf Hill.

The Aoi Festival, one of Kyoto’s three major traditional festivals, began on May 15th with a vibrant procession of around 500 people dressed in elegant Heian-period garments making their way through the streets of the ancient capital.

Japan’s prototypes of the kilogram and meter, which once served as national standards for weight and length, were presented to the press this week ahead of the 150th anniversary of the Meter Convention, the international treaty that standardized global measurement systems, to be marked on May 20th.

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A research paper co-authored by a lecturer at Fukuoka University of Education has been published in the British scientific journal Nature, detailing a groundbreaking discovery about supermassive black holes.

Japan’s prototypes of the kilogram and meter, which once served as national standards for weight and length, were presented to the press this week ahead of the 150th anniversary of the Meter Convention, the international treaty that standardized global measurement systems, to be marked on May 20th.

The Japan Meteorological Agency announced has that the Kuroshio Large Meander, a phenomenon that has lasted for 7 years and 9 months, is expected to come to an end. The agency is urging people to stay updated, noting that changes in the Kuroshio Current may affect both fish species and fishing grounds.

A male worker cleaning Reactor Unit 3 at the Genkai Nuclear Plant in Saga Prefecture was found to have suffered internal radiation exposure, marking the first such confirmed case at Kyushu Electric, the company announced on Sunday.

The current global standard for measuring time is based on the oscillation of cesium atoms. Its margin of error—just one second every 60 million years—might seem sufficiently precise, but for one Japanese physicist, it is not enough.

Kyushu University opened its Chikushi Campus to the public on May 10th, offering a hands-on experience of science to prospective students and local residents.

A groundbreaking project to develop the world’s first artificial satellite made of wood is underway in Kyoto, led by astronaut Takao Doi. The initiative is part of a broader push toward environmentally sustainable space exploration.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), made from used cooking oil and other waste materials, has been produced domestically in Japan for the first time and supplied to an aircraft.