Search - environment

 
 
Employees work on the assembly line at an electric vehicle plant in Shanghai. Cutting salaries is illegal in China, but complex pay structures offer loopholes.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 5, 2023

China's auto workers bear brunt of price war as fallout widens

Cutting salaries is illegal in China, but complex pay structures offer ways around this.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel talks to local fishermen on Thursday to show his support for the water discharge from the nearby Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 5, 2023

Fukushima water disposal is leadership opportunity for Japan

Some 1,000 storage tanks that hold the water are almost full and more tanks can’t be installed as they would interfere with the plant’s decommissioning.
Panelists led by Kenya's President William Ruto (center) conduct a session during the Africa Climate Summit 2023 in Nairobi on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 6, 2023

'Unfair' global finance system in focus at Africa climate talks

The Nairobi summit hopes to boost investment in renewables, with the UAE pledging $4.5 billion to accelerate Africa's clean energy transition.
A group of Chinese tourists arrive at Haneda Airport in Tokyo in August.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 6, 2023

Japan takes steps toward establishing overtourism countermeasures

The Japan Tourism Agency did not specify when the new countermeasures will be finalized. However, the goal is to have them compiled by the fall.
Part of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System near Delta Junction, Alaska, on May 5
WORLD / Politics
Sep 7, 2023

Biden to cancel oil field leases in Arctic reserve sold by Trump

Territory in northern Alaska long prized for its oil and gas potential, but also as home to waterfowl, caribou, polar bears and other wildlife.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (left), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (center), Chinese Premier Li Qiang (back, second right), U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (front right) and Indonesian President Joko Widodo (back right) arrive for the East Asia Summit as part of Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Jakarta on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 8, 2023

U.S.-China rivalry dominates ASEAN talks as summits wrap up

The meetings saw the United States, Japan, China and others look to shore up regional partnerships as they vie for influence over the 10-member bloc.
Cargo ships wait in the anchor zone to cross the Panama Canal from the Pacific entrance near Panama City, Panama, on Sept. 1
ENVIRONMENT / Oceans
Sep 8, 2023

Top global ports may be unusable by 2050 without more climate action: report

Of the world’s 3,800 ports, a third are located in a tropical band vulnerable to the most powerful effects of climate change
The beach at Brighton, on the south coast of England on Thursday, as the late summer heat wave continues.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 8, 2023

How climate change influenced the hottest summer on record

A growing body of attribution science seeks to analyze if or how climate change is making extreme weather worse.
Rachel Culin, a disenchanted Toyota owner, standing between her Toyota Prius and new Chevy Bolt at her home in Mesa, Arizona. The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell all-electric vehicles, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023

Toyota, a hybrid pioneer, struggles to master electric vehicles

The world’s largest carmaker dominates the sales of hybrid cars but has been slow to sell EVs, alienating some customers and hurting sales.
An industrial park in Shanxi Province, in the heart of China’s coal country
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 9, 2023

World falling dangerously short of climate goals: U.N. report card

The Paris Agreement has successfully driven climate action, but "much more is needed now on all fronts," the U.N.'s first official progress report said.
China's exports fell by 14.5% year on year in July, a stark contrast from the robust 17.2% export growth recorded in July 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2023

Why hasn’t China rushed to bail out its economy?

China's reluctance to unveil a massive stimulus package despite the ongoing economic slowdown has puzzled foreign observers and the Chinese public alike.
A screen shows an image of Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers in Beijing in August last year. The PLA's newspaper recently explained to its readers how ChatGPT can be used for military purposes.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 12, 2023

Will generative AI hold power in international relations?

The technology has the ability to create influential text and imagery, giving it power to potentially sway public opinion.
Shuhei Abe, founder of Sparx Group, is seeking to put his ideas into action with a so-called engagement fund to invest in well-run but undervalued Japanese businesses.
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2023

Buffett spurs Japan activist pioneer to seek $2 billion for fund

Shuhei Abe is seeking to put his ideas into action with a so-called engagement fund to invest in well-run but undervalued Japanese businesses.
Attendees view "Lizard and Cigarette" by He Xiangyu during Art Basel in Hong Kong in March.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2023

Pace Gallery's Marc Glimcher surveys an Asian art scene in flux

The art market in Asia is growing increasingly competitive, with a new space in Tokyo for the New York-headquartered gallery adding to that dynamic.
A TSMC plant under construction in Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

TSMC prizes Japan's chips skills after U.S. stumbles

The chipmaker is taking an increasingly optimistic view of Japan as a production base, as problems persist at its new factory in Arizona.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida leaves his office residence in formal attire to attend an attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace with his reshuffled Cabinet in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 13, 2023

Kishida replaces top diplomat and boosts women in Cabinet reshuffle

Among the more stunning moves was the prime minister’s decision to have former Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa replace Yoshimasa Hayashi as top diplomat.
Asep Muizudin Muhamad Darmini was recently discharged from a hospital in Jakarta after being treated for a respiratory illness caused by the city's air pollution.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Sep 13, 2023

Breathless Indonesians irate over pollution crisis in Jakarta

Air pollution is hardly a new phenomenon in the city, but monitors and activists say the effects have been even worse than usual this year.
Arm U.S. headquarters in San Jose, California
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

Arm’s CEO is pitching a made-for-you chip strategy ahead of IPO

The company is shifting its strategy, now focusing on doing complex design work on specific products, tailored for what it sees as key areas of growth.
People wait for flights at Marrakech-Menara airport following a powerful earthquake in Morocco on Saturday.
WORLD / Society
Sep 13, 2023

After Morocco quake, tourists grapple with the ethics of travel

Each disaster’s impact is unique, and travelers are usually advised to follow the guidance of government officials in the aftermath of such events.
The sudden resignation of BP CEO Bernard Looney may mark a crossroads clean energy, as Looney was seen as pushing for a transition more aggressively than his industry peers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023

BP chief’s surprise exit leaves questions over green strategy

BP said Tuesday that the 53-year-old CEO was departing after failing to fully disclose to the company board past relationships with colleagues.
In a city known for sparse youth accommodation, investors are buying up hotels and converting them into student housing or rental units.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 14, 2023

Investors scour Hong Kong hotels for student dorms and rentals

Hong Kong’s government has launched a slew of initiatives that fuel the demand for student housing and rental properties.
A man harvests coffee berries in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 14, 2023

Coffee firms underprepared for EU deforestation law: report

Desperate farmers excluded by the law might be forced to expand into forested areas and increase output to survive, defeating the law's purpose.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with a payload of 21 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Feb. 27.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Sep 21, 2023

Satellite constellations taking on greater role in Japan's security

As Japan fine-tunes its national security strategy, the importance and future of satellite constellations is being examined.
A report by the Climate Overshoot Commission said that potentially dangerous experimental geoengineering methods — including controversial "solar radiation modification" — need to be halted until they have been researched thoroughly.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Sep 15, 2023

Risky geoengineering should be banned, climate group says

Cutting CO2 emissions is vital, but potentially dangerous geoengineering methods need to be halted until they have been researched thoroughly.
Police investigators head to Bigomotor's headquarters on the 20th floor of the Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo's Minato Ward from an underground parking on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 15, 2023

Bigmotor headquarters searched over dying roadside trees

The land ministry said soil sampled near a number of outlets in various prefectures along national roads were found to contain herbicide ingredients.
Idemitsu Kosan's model facility in Yokohama offering an electric vehicle charging service
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2023

Japan moves to make more effective use of solar power

Efforts are being made to use surplus electricity generated during the daytime by solar power and to shift power demand according to supply.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva walks after attending an interview at the International Media Center at the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi on Sept. 10.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 16, 2023

IMF to urge China to shift growth model toward consumption

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva plans to ask China to address a number of issues that are dragging down both Chinese and global growth.
Corruption thrives in times of war, as exemplified by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently being forced to replace his defense minister after top officials were accused of skimming funds or taking bribes. 
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2023

Zelenskyy needs to fight corruption like he’s fighting Putin

There’s no need just to pick on ex-Soviet states like Ukraine. A fire hose of U.S. taxpayer money went missing in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A self-driving Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle in San Francisco in 2017
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2023

With self-driving cars, it's the ethics we have to navigate

Do accidents involving self-driving cars today save lives tomorrow? When it comes to self-driving cars, the challenges aren't just technical, but ethical.
Yasutoshi Nishimura
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2023

Minister vows to counter misinformation over Fukushima water release

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings started to release the treated water on Aug. 24.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?