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November 22, 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.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 28, 2010
Is the Atsugi tragedy finally drawing to a close?
During the 18 years I have been writing this column, few stories have haunted me as much as that about the Japanese-owned incinerator that, for more than a decade, fumigated the U.S. Naval Air Facility at Atsugi in the Kanagawa Prefecture cities of Yamato and Ayase.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 24, 2010
Saving the planet through its trees
Negotiators at the COP15 conference in Copenhagen didn't see eye to eye on much last month, but almost everyone agreed on one thing: To protect the planet we need to save its forests.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 27, 2009
COP15 farce: There's always more time, till there isn't
Post-conference analysis of the Copenhagen COP15 has ranged from despair and disgust to guarded optimism that 2010 will bring a new and better agreement.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 22, 2009
Beyond Copenhagen there's more than just cutting CO2
Imagine for a minute that global warming is not changing our planet's biosphere and the ecosystems that sustain life on Earth.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 25, 2009
Of simmering frogs and economists leaping to terminal conclusions
They say that if a frog is dropped into boiling water it will jump out, but if it is placed in water that is then heated slowly it will steadily acclimate and boil to death — having missed its chance to escape.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 27, 2009
Captains of industry must stop playing the blame game — now
While visiting India earlier this month I had a revelation.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 23, 2009
Imagine a time with no fish in the sea
BAR HARBOR MAINE — Each summer, our family visits this part of the New England coast, and each year I am reminded of the elemental connections humans share with the oceans.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 26, 2009
'Groundhog Day' man realizes why solar fans love running backward
Events this month have brought home to me once again the enduring truth of that popular slogan, "Think globally, act locally."
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 28, 2009
Priorities and politics 'must change fast' to head off global calamity
The 19th-century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer declared: "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as self-evident."
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 24, 2009
Students share hopes for nation's future environment
Each year on May 5, Japan celebrates Children's Day with waves of young families flooding local parks, playgrounds and amusement centers.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 26, 2009
Ignorance of 'sustainability' is not an option
Judging from the last month's headlines, it's clear we are collectively still not getting it — despite how much we know about the environment. In fact, it seems the more we know, the less we learn.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 22, 2009
Our mantra of continuous growth has left us on ecological brink
If print media are any indication, change is in the air. Readers are sourcing news in new ways, and newspaper sales are declining as a result.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 22, 2009
'Sustainability' in a Japanese way
Takeshi Hara is an accomplished journalist, author and educator, and at 70 years of age he could easily choose to rest on his laurels.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 25, 2009
Soft power beckons as time comes for academia to act sustainably
As I am for the most part an optimist, it seems only right to kick off 2009 with an upbeat column and, as an educator, one area I believe offers great promise is education.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 24, 2008
Overseas aid benefits whom?
PHNOM PENH CAMBODIA — Despite widespread awareness and censure of human rights violations, Japan, the United States and member nations of the European Union continue to give aid to governments that use the money to enrich themselves while ravaging ecosystems and brutalizing their own citizens. China...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 26, 2008
Asia's first lady of the environment
If Barak Obama is serious about developing proactive environmental policies that are international is scope, he would do well to work closely with Japan.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 22, 2008
A plea for the wetlands
Representatives of 158 nations will converge next week on Changwon in South Korea, where they will spend nine days, from Oct. 27 to Nov. 4, talking about how to save the world's wetlands.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 24, 2008
You know IG makes common sense: a re-energized U.S.
What if nations around the world were to adopt intelligent systems that would revolutionize the way we produce and consume energy?
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 27, 2008
Exploring Antarctica for key climate clues
The steamy hot days of summer make it very tempting to imagine an escape to the snow and ice of Antarctica, though few of us will ever have that chance. Shin Sugiyama, 39, a glaciologist at Hokkaido University, is one of the exceptions.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 23, 2008
There's still hope — despite our milquetoast* leaders
In the runup to the Group of Eight summit held this month in a stupendously policed corner of Japan's most remote northern island, there was widespread expectation that little would be achieved on the environmental agenda.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
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.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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