Wall street Journal: Its hardly North Dakota, but Japans Akita Prefecture is making its own small mark in the oil business. Japan Petroleum Exploration Co.1662.TO -1.15%, or Japex, said this week that it has started commercial production of shale oil in the northern prefecture, the first such case in Japan. Hydraulic fracturingin which sand, chemicals and water are pumped at high pressure down a well to break up dense rock formationshas transformed the U.S. industry. Fracking has allowed companies to access tight...