Search - environment

 
 
Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota, speaks during an event at Earth Rider Brewery in Superior, Wisconsin, on Jan. 25.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 7, 2024

How Tim Walz pushed Minnesota toward aggressive climate policies

Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor tapped to become the Democratic vice presidential nominee, has accelerated his state’s embrace of clean energy and electric vehicles.
A bulletin board shows the day's highest temperature in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on July 29.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Aug 8, 2024

From Naha to Nemuro, how Japan’s cities are responding to more heat

Municipalities are reaching for everything from automated misting systems to anime to help cool residents and educate them about the risks of heat.
Former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba answers reporters' questions at parliament on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2024

Shigeru Ishiba remains public's favorite for next LDP leader, poll shows

In the August poll, Shigeru Ishiba was backed by 18.7% of respondents, followed by former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi with 12.5%.
A meeting of the Lao-Lao liquor cooperative held in the village of Xai in Attapeu Province in June.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 19, 2024

Co-op Okinawa nurtures Laos farmers' cooperatives to encourage growth

By setting up cooperatives, farmers can prevent unfavorable price negotiations by sharing information with one another.
A solar farm in Dunhuang, northwest of Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China. Last year, China broke records in adding new wind turbines and solar panels. This year, it’s set on making sure people use them.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Aug 9, 2024

China’s policy blitz shows fresh resolve to support clean energy

China's latest moves signal a change in priorities taking place in Beijing to move to cleaner energy.
A petrochemical plant in China. Asia's producers face the toughest outlook, with oversupply likely to persist.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Aug 9, 2024

Petrochemical makers enter survival mode amid global glut

Major petrochemical producers in Asia and Europe are selling assets, shutting older plants, and retrofitting facilities.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. This week's market turmoil underscored how difficult it is for the central bank to limit market shocks as it unwinds years of extraordinary monetary stimulus.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 9, 2024

Mixed messages from BOJ leave traders guessing about its true aims

Investors are wondering how much faith they can put into the Bank of Japan following comments that appear to be damage control.
Homes surrounded by floodwaters in Steinhatchee, Florida, after Hurricane Debby made landfall on Aug. 5.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 10, 2024

Clashing risk predictions cast doubt on black box climate models

Insurers and investors are using private modeling tools to make risk assessments, but they have major inconsistencies.
Scientists have proposed a way to heat up Mars using heat-trapping iron or aluminum particles as an initial step toward making the planet habitable for people.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 10, 2024

Scientists propose warming up Mars by using heat-trapping 'glitter'

The scientists who developed the proposal see it as a potentially doable initial step toward making the planet habitable.
Forest in the town of Kamishihoro, Hokkaido, which was designated as an advanced area for decarbonization in fiscal 2022.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 12, 2024

Japan looks to farms in 'advanced decarbonization areas'

Example projects include "agrivoltaics" initiatives and those using livestock manure as a source of biogas.
A new trend on social media advocates living a more frugal lifestyle that prioritizes quality over quantity.
WORLD / Society
Aug 12, 2024

Do I need it? 'Underconsumption core' trends on TikTok

Years of inflation have forced many to the conclusion they cannot keep up with the spending habits of those on their social media feeds.
U.S. President Donald Trump and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 30, 2020
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 13, 2024

Musk scorns subsidies, but Tesla still lobbies for U.S. benefits

Despite Musk's gradual embrace of Trump, the company continues to lobby the U.S. and state governments for benefits championed by the Democratic Party.
Designed by Bob Foundation in collaboration with Sugita Ace, the Sonaete series of disaster preparedness kits are packaged in bags, boxes and pouches that look attractive in homes.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Aug 13, 2024

Stylish emergency goods can save precious seconds when disaster strikes

Eye-catching go bags, canary-inspired whistles and more aesthetically pleasing emergency preparedness items you'll want to keep within arm's reach.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (second right) takes part in the inauguration ceremony for the Deep Tech Lab - Quantum in Copenhagen on Sept. 29.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2024

The growing strategic race in emerging technologies

Japan’s security and trading partners are increasingly serious about developing quantum capabilities. Japan has to do more to both keep pace.
The destruction left behind by the Borel Fire near Lake Isabella, California, on July 29
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2024

Wildfires are getting weirder. Case in point: 'firenados.'

Sometimes fire thunderstorms even create their own lightning, which spawns new blazes miles away.
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 13, 2024

Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert

Concerns over a potential disaster have prompted many visitors to cancel their plans and city's to cancel events.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2024

Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’

The surprise move came amid growing criticism from rank-and-file party members and bad poll numbers.
Following the Paris Olympics, two swimming pools, the climbing wall and the skateboard parks are set to be dug out and moved — most of them to the poverty-stricken Seine-Saint-Denis suburb northeast of Paris.
OLYMPICS
Aug 14, 2024

Olympics infrastructure and equipment heads for 'second life' post-Games

Over decades, the world's biggest sporting event has forged a reputation for monumental waste, but Paris organizers are hoping to change that.
A Plug Power hydrogen plant in Woodbine, Georgia
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Aug 14, 2024

Why almost nobody is buying green hydrogen

Many of the projects now touted with great fanfare by countries vying to become 'the Saudi Arabia of hydrogen' will likely never get built.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba (left) and Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te at the presidential office in Taipei on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 14, 2024

Is it fifth time's the charm for Shigeru Ishiba?

Ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race, a short trip to Taiwan is allowing the former defense minister to burnish his foreign policy chops.
A return to the world with interest will almost certainly mean an increase in the bifurcation of Japan's haves and have-nots.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2024

Is Japan ready for a ‘world with interest?’

Ever since Ueda arrived at the central bank 15 months ago, economists have been debating what the "world with interest” will look like.
Above part of the photo shows an empty land lot in the city of Kobe and the bottom part shows it was turned into an temporary evacuation area.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 15, 2024

Land ministry to support empty land utilization

The ministry plans to seek the necessary funds under the government's fiscal 2025 budget.
Former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visits Yasukuni Shrine on Thursday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 15, 2024

Kishida clears the way for ministers to campaign in LDP election

Prospective candidates are weighing whether they can gather the necessary endorsements and rake in enough votes to have a decent shot at winning.
LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and LDP Vice President Taro Aso attend an executive meeting in Tokyo on July 23.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 15, 2024

With resignation, Kishida looks to LDP's political future

Once it became clear that his chances of winning the September vote were minimal, Kishida chose to prioritize the party’s interests.
Tourists at a water fountain at the Acropolis archaeological site during extreme hot weather conditions in Athens in July 2023.
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2024

Extreme weather drives travelers to cooler destinations this summer

Cruise operators, hotel companies and airlines are adding trips and accommodations to meet rising demand for temperate destinations.
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision to step down opens the door to newcomers competing at a time when the central bank is paving the way for policy normalization.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 16, 2024

Japan's change of leadership comes at challenging time for monetary policy

Next month’s ruling party vote will be held against a backdrop of persistent inflation.
The parliament building in Tokyo. With concerns about summer heat rising and many elections taking place in summertime, it may not be tenable to conduct campaigns as in the past given health risks to candidates, their staff and voters.
JAPAN / Politics / Boiling Point
Aug 17, 2024

Hotter summers pose a threat to Japan's tradition of stump speeches

Balancing health concerns with legal restrictions as well as candidates' desire to be as publicly visible as possible, even in super hot weather, might be tricky.
Tourists line up to board the sightseeing ship Nijiiro Sakana-go at Misaki Port in Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, in June.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 16, 2024

Japanese fishing communities aim to harness appeal

The Fisheries Agency plans to boost its sea industry promotion team to better support regional revitalization across Japan.
If two veterans, Toshimitsu Motegi and Shigeru Ishiba, run for the role of Liberal Democratic Party president, the race might come down to a choice between one of former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s allies versus one of LDP Vice President Taro Aso’s allies.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 16, 2024

Despite disbandment, factions still loom over LDP leadership race

Faction leaders' continued influence means they can't be ignored by candidates for party president.
Earthquakes are a fact of life in Japan, but there are strategies to keep yourself from spiraling into stress and despair over future catastrophes.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 17, 2024

Dreading the Big One? How to manage pre-disaster anxiety.

Anxiety about potential natural disasters can take its toll, but mental health experts say there are practical solutions.

Longform

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