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November 23, 2024
 

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Stephen Hesse

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Stephen Hesse
Stephen Hesse is an educator and writer living in Tokyo. He graduated from Vermont Law School, where he received a JD and an LLM, and is now a professor in the Law Faculty of Chuo University, Tokyo, as well as Associate Director of the Chuo International Center.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 23, 2013
Jellyfish carry the sting of human overcrowding
It may not be immediately apparent what jellyfish, human population growth and our protein diet have in common. Take a closer look, though, and all three offer warning signs that dramatic changes are on the horizon for us and our planet.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 26, 2013
Mr. Abe: Bag the nukes and heed the Keeling Curve
Dear Prime Minister Abe,
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 28, 2013
African elephants pluck at Japan's heartstrings
Next time you attend a shamisen performance, neither you nor most anyone else there will likely notice the elephant in the room. And those who do probably won't have given it much thought.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 24, 2013
Be inspired: One person can help foster sustainable lives for millions
Last month, this column introduced Bangkok-based Midori Paxton, who is currently a regional technical adviser for biodiversity and ecosystems with the United Nations Development Programme — and who, I'm delighted to say, was a model student of mine here in Japan more than 20 years ago.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 24, 2013
One former student's inspiring path to success
Seeing fewer years ahead and more behind me as a teacher, I often think back over the students who have passed through my classrooms and wonder how many will truly make a difference in the world.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 26, 2013
Take a deep breath of everyone else's air and pollution
Perhaps it was due to the fever of impending flu, or the arctic winds rattling our Tokyo home, but recent media photos of Beijing's thick smog suddenly brought to mind thoughts of the late U.S. president, John F. Kennedy.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Dec 30, 2012
Kyu Asakura's garden of wealth and privilege
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 23, 2012
How to care for the children when we're at odds with the planet?
Perhaps this column should begin with a disclaimer like those found on CDs and DVDs that are intended to help protect kids from obscenity — Parental Advisory: Explicit Content.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 25, 2012
Canadian scientist uses math to green Japanese baseball
Richard Hoshino is a tall, slim mathematician, as tightly wound as a precision timepiece, and irrepressibly polite and cheerful. He also has a hard time taking "no" for an answer.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 28, 2012
'Fresh Currents' charts the way to, and from, Fukushima
This month's column is about a book that is very much more than just a book: It is a work of art, a labor of love and a realizable dream of a better future for Japan. But I'm getting ahead of myself ...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 23, 2012
Japan's nuclear phaseout: Is it all smoke and mirrors?
On Sept. 14, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's administration announced that Japan would end nuclear-power generation by 2040. Five days later his Cabinet failed to endorse the new policy; but on the same day, Sept. 19, Trade Minister Yukio Edano insisted that the government would still act "based on"...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 26, 2012
If we ruin the air, what will our children breathe?
Watching the sun set into the Pacific Ocean from a hotel tucked in among the dry scrub hills of San Diego, I have a chance to reflect on life here in Southern California, on climate changes and on what's in store for future generations.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 22, 2012
Is Rio+20 the way the world ends — with a whimper?
Last month, more than 45,000 people descended on Rio de Janeiro for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 24, 2012
There's none so blind as those who deny they cannot see
Buddhism teaches that all human suffering is rooted in greed, anger and ignorance. Whether true or not, it is clear that related human failings are compromising our planet: our material greed, our ignorance of natural systems, and most of all, our dogged denial.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 27, 2012
Japan has a role to play in environment and rights issues in Belize
"The United Nations' largest-ever conference, billed as a historic opportunity to create a greener future, appears to be going up in smoke."
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 22, 2012
It takes a forest, a field and a stream to raise a child
In 1996, back when the present U.S. Secretary of State was the first lady, Hillary Rodham-Clinton published a book titled "It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us," which popularized an old African proverb — "It takes a village to raise a child."
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 25, 2012
A woman of wisdom among the energy mandarins
Ask me who should facilitate Japan's energy dialogue and the choice is easy: Junko Edahiro.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 26, 2012
Gloom, doom — and Lester Brown's 'Plan B'
Anyone who has read any of the 50-plus books that Lester Brown has authored or co-authored (in any of the 40-odd languages into which they've been translated) might easily imagine him to be another gloomy environmentalist.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 22, 2012
Changing self and systems for a leaner and greener Japan
Year in, year out, it never ceases to amaze me what a difference a day makes.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 25, 2011
Time for Japan to realize it really is the canary in the mine
This Christmas Day column is a book review, but it is also a wish and a prayer.
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Saitama court bans demonstrations over anti-Kurd hate speech
Kurdish people in Japan in 2015. A court injunction has banned acts that defame the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association and are disrespectful, such as putting up banner flags or handing out fliers with hate speech like “Refugees should go back to their home countries.”
China reinstates visa-free travel for Japanese nationals
Beijing Daxing International Airport
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.

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