JGA Organizes a Lecture by Dr. Fatih Birol, IEA On February 17, 2015, the Japan Gas Association (JGA) hosted a lecture by Dr. Fatih Birol, Chief Economist and next Executive Director at the International Energy Agency (IEA) responsible for the publication of World Energy Outlook, IEA's flagship publication, at Iino Hall, Tokyo. Dr. Birol has been named by Forbes magazine among the most influential persons in the energy community. He serves as the Chairman of the World Economic Forum (the organizer of annual meetings at Davos) and is also known as the recipient of many awards and honorary positions, including the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon from the Government of Japan in 2013. In this lecture Dr. Birol discussed recent initiatives concerning energy security and CO2 reduction, the outlook for the oil market up to 2040, the increase in natural gas supply and the growth of demand led by Asia, the outlook for nuclear power up to 2040, and the implications for the national energy policy in Japan. Regarding natural gas, Dr. Birol commented as follows: "As nonconventional production techniques begin to be employed not only in North America but also in the rest of the world, the supply of natural gas in the global market will increase. At the same time, the diversification of supply sources will increase the fluidity of the LNG market, giving consumer countries a stronger position. The success or failure of shale gas development in China is particularly important because it will have impacts on the Asian gas and coal markets, and also on the trade relationship with Russia. As for the demand for natural gas, the expansion of gas imports in the period up to 2040 will be led by Asian countries. What is important in Asia is the formation of flexible and efficient markets that will support the pursuit of well-balanced imports by consumers." The following link connects to the presentation by Dr. Birol: >>> "World Energy Outlook 2014" Please find more information about World Energy Outlook at: >>> http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/

The 8th Nationwide Family Cooking Contest On January 25, the With Gas Club*, in which JGA is a member, held "The 8th With Gas Nationwide Family Cooking Contest - Sharpening Your Five Senses by Cooking with Fire" at the hu+g MUSEUM, an information hub on food and housing recently opened by Osaka Gas. The contest is attracting more competitors each year, with a total of 46,046 teams this year, up from last year's record-high of 36,356 teams. The Osaka final stage was contested by 15 teams of parent-child pairs, all winners of the regionals, in a heated and impressive match in which all teams presented the favorite dish of the family. The main valuation bases were teamwork between parent and child, the taste of the dish, and the original idea that each family put into cooking. The Grand Prix was won by "Gift from Tsugaru, Our Healthy Family Dish" by Team Oda. The other participants commented that cooking together strengthened parent-child and family ties and was an invaluable time. The With Gas Nationwide Family Cooking Contest offers participants an opportunity to learn cooking in a fun way and to casually experience Shokuiku, or food education. The Japan Gas Association is actively contributing to society through Shokuiku activities and by running campaigns to widely promote "Life with Gas" to families, in addition to supporting wider use of city gas. *The "With Gas Club" is a consortium established by four industries working with the living environment (housing companies, kitchen and bath manufacturers, gas equipment manufacturers, and LPG and city gas companies) to make proposals for better homes and life styles. The Club comprises the Japan Federation of Housing Organizations, Japan Association of Kitchen & Bath, Japan Industrial Association of Gas and Kerosene Appliances, and Collabo. "Gift from Tsugaru, Our Healthy Family Dish" by Team Oda Team Oda cooking

ENEX (Energy and Environment Exhibition) / Smart Energy Japan 2015 The ENEX (Energy and Environment Exhibition) / Smart Energy Japan 2015 were held for three days from January 28 at the Tokyo Big Sight. The ENEX / Smart Energy Japan are an exhibition of energy management, solutions for energy-saving, and smart energy system with utilizing ICT (information communication technology) which contribute to create an energy-efficient and low-carbon society. With the theme of "Smart Society with Energy Management", at the exhibition wide variety of energy-saving products are exhibited including energy management systems like BEMS and HEMS, along with smart meters, as well as photovoltaic and power storage systems for renewable power generation and storage. The booth operated jointly by Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas at ENEX / Smart Energy Japan 2015 At the ENEX / Smart Energy Japan this year, the Japan Gas Association set up a booth jointly with Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas to present the gas industry's solutions for achieving smart energy utilization at different scales (home, building and regional community) while meeting various customers' needs such as CO2 reduction, power-saving and BCP by means of efficient energy utilization, advanced energy management and energy security enhancement.

City Gas Sales for the Full Year 2014 (Jan.-Dec.) Gas sales by Japanese gas utilities (207 utilities nationwide) in 2014 (January through December) were 37,187 million m3 (41.8605MJ/ m3 equivalent), up by 2.5% from 2013. By sector: - Year-by-year, residential sector sales increased by 1.0% to 9,612 million m3, commercial sector sales decreased by 2.8% to 4,335 million m3, industrial sector sales increased by 5.3% to 20,294 million m3, and other sector sales decreased by 2.4% to 2,945 million m3. By region: - The year-on-year changes in sales by region were as follows: Hokkaido +1.1%, Tohoku -1.0%, Kanto-Koshinetsu +5.4%, Tokai-Hokuriku -0.3%, Kinki -1.3%, Chugoku -0.3%, Shikoku +2.3%, and Kyushu-Okinawa +1.2%.

Information: >>> Gas Facts in Japan 2014

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