Search - environment

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN / Explainer
Jul 16, 2023

Why China is opposed to the release of treated water in Fukushima

Japan's plan is facing a strong backlash from China, South Korea and other locations in the Pacific. But where are the concerns coming from?
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 2, 2023

Squeezed on housing, Sunak’s Tories take aim at EU-era water law

The British leader is considering scrapping the law as his government faces pressure to build more houses while fending off a voter backlash on pollution.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 25, 2023

Colorful snow algae is blooming in Japan's alpine areas. What does this mean for climate change?

Scientists race to Mount Gassan to see how the algae might affect the natural balance in vulnerable ecosystems and potentially perpetuate warming.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 22, 2023

Under Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia can use global funds to 'do better' on climate

So far, Anwar has focused on corruption and the rising cost of living but has said little on how he will bolster Malaysia's green credentials.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 12, 2023

Junji Takasago: ‘Photographers are a bridge between humans and nature’

In capturing nature's raw and mysterious beauty, Junji Takasago seeks not only to inspire awe but highlight its fragility.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 3, 2023

The world’s fantasy destination has an answer to climate oblivion

The Maldives has turned to island building to stave off the impact of global warming, with tourists hoped to foot the bill. But the initiatives come with an environmental cost.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2022

A controversy forces Tokyo to define 'public park'

A plan to redevelop the capital's Meiji Jingu Gaien park and its sporting venues has drawn ire from people who want the area's trees to be spared.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 18, 2022

For firms, climate and deforestation becoming part of bigger ‘nature’ issue

Companies may still be tempted to treat their responsibilities on climate and forests as separate issues, but the two are intimately linked, an expert has stressed.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / Longform
Nov 21, 2022

Polluted waterways: Examining the health of Japan’s rivers

The functional use of Japan's rivers has severely impacted water quality and public health, drawing intense scrutiny over the years.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Oct 15, 2022

Xi’s green China dream tested by weak economy and global strife

China's party congress in Beijing will likely take place under crisp, blue skies — a symbol of Xi Jinping's environmental stewardship that is being tested by darkening economic clouds.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 16, 2022

Drowning in plastic? Biodegradable materials could be a lifesaver.

It’s official: In March, the United Nations Environmental Assembly endorsed a global pact on the life cycle of plastic. It has been declared a seismic shift in the battle against marine pollution, but what will happen to the oceans before those potential positive effects come?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Jun 18, 2022

China’s new green debate: Saving the planet vs. saving the planet

A revived plan to build a dam across China's largest freshwater lake that was shelved after environmental protests, has a new rationale for its construction — helping the environment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 15, 2022

Net-zero Picasso: Museums rethink art shows to cut climate impact

While there is little museums can do to reduce the carbon footprint made by the air travel of tourists, they can cut back on the flights a Warhol or Picasso makes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 13, 2022

How fashion giants recast plastic as good for the planet

An explosion in the use of inexpensive, petroleum-based materials has transformed the fashion industry, aided by the successful rebranding of synthetic materials into hip alternatives.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 23, 2022

In Ecuador's Amazon, youth take up the fight against oil pollution

For decades, local Indigenous people, farming communities, environmental rights activists and lawyers have said flaring causes serious damage to the environment and health.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2022

A U.N. pact may restrict plastic production. Big Oil aims to stop it.

U.N. members are set to meet this month to draft the blueprint for a global plastics treaty. That's a problem for Big Oil, with the plastic industry set to double output within 20 years.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 17, 2022

After sun-dimming setback, geoengineers seek a diplomatic fix

One aim is to have solar geoengineering discussed for the first time by the U.N. General Assembly in a session starting in September 2023.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 27, 2021

China talks up 'green' Olympics but prepares to fight smog

Beijing has improved its air quality since China won its bid to host the Games, but the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has said the risks of winter smog remained 'severe.'
Employees of a fishing net manufacturer, including Ainu Indigenous people, work at a facility in Urahoro, Hokkaido, in June.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Jul 23, 2023

In Hokkaido, an Ainu group's lawsuit and climate change converge on salmon fishing

The Raporo Ainu Nation in Hokkaido is fighting for its Indigenous rights to fish for salmon. But warming waters are raising questions about future fish stocks.
An apartment building construction site in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, on July 19. Officials at Daito Trust Construction, which oversees the building project, say heatstroke dangers are a top concern given their aging workforce.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Jul 30, 2023

In Japan, extreme heat and an aging population are a deadly mix

Heat waves combined with high humidity are weighing particularly heavily on the nation’s 36 million people age 65 and over, who are at much greater risk of severe illness and death.
The Azabudai Hills development in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2023

Mori Building to open Azabudai Hills complex in Tokyo in November

The company hopes the project will boost the capital’s competitive edge over metropolises overseas.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen during a practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix. Saudi Aramco has perhaps the most visible presence among fossil fuel giants at Formula One races as one of the series' top sponsors.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Sep 30, 2023

F1 says it will reach net zero by 2030. But can it shake its polluting image?

Formula One's pledge faces myriad challenges, including its long-standing ties to some of the world's dirtiest fossil fuel companies.
Hang Dara, an electrician-turned-fisherman, passes the two active coal-fired power plants in Sihanoukville’s Steung Hav district.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Nov 26, 2023

Cambodia's big bet on the dirtiest fossil fuel faces major delays

Large projects are facing long delays amid uncertainty over foreign funding.
3M’s Cottage Grove, Minnesota factory had been churning out varieties of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS since the 1950s.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 9, 2024

PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ pervasive in water worldwide, study finds

The study of over 45,000 water samples worldwide found that about 31% of groundwater had levels of the chemicals considered harmful to human health.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa at a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo in March.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 16, 2024

Japan's security environment at its 'most severe and complex,' policy report says

While North Korea and Russia pose challenges, some of the strongest words were reserved for China.
An Israeli tank maneuvers inside the Gaza Strip on Thursday. Gaza's environment was already suffering from recurring conflicts, rapid urban growth, and high population density, before the most recent conflict began on Oct. 7.
WORLD / Society
Jun 18, 2024

Gaza conflict has caused major environmental damage, U.N. says

Water, sanitation, and hygiene systems are now almost entirely defunct, the report found, with Gaza's five wastewater treatment plants shut down.
A loggerhead sea turtle hatches eggs on a beach in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional voices: Chubu
Jul 29, 2024

Aichi sea turtle researchers assess risks of warmer nesting sites

The warmer the nest is, the more likely hatchlings will be female — that bodes ill for the survival of the marine species.

Longform

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