Noriaki Oba, an energy analyst, assesses the state of the energy industry worldwide in his speech at CPAC Japan 2022. Japan, thankfully, is not suffering as severe an energy crisis as the United States and Europe. Europe and the United States are experiencing high energy prices and shortages due to decreased domestic production and sanctions on Russian energy. These sanctions are not even hurting Russia. Russia has found other customers for their oil and natural gas. So these sanctions are only hurting Europe and the United States. Oba calls these sanctions “suicide” for the West. Japan is walking in a middle ground on the issue. They have joined the sanctions but are still asking Russia to provide them with oil. They are, however, moving toward nuclear power. Recent legislation increased the country’s output on nuclear power, freeing them to an extent from foreign energy and allowing them to still thrive under sanctions on Russian energy.