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April 01, 2025
 

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ANIMALS

JR Central President Shunsuke Niwa speaks during a group interview in Nagoya on Dec. 18.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2025
JR Central to let pet dogs ride on shinkansen
Shinkansen cars will be chartered to allow passengers to release their dogs from cages and move around inside the cars with the pets.
On Sunday, authorities in Iwate Prefecture began culling some 50,000 chickens Sunday after an outbreak of bird flu.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2025
Bird flu outbreaks strike Iwate Prefecture farms
It is the 19th bird flu outbreak of the season in Japan, the agriculture ministry said.
A falconer during the Suwa Falconry Preservation Society's event in Tokyo on Friday. Falconry predates recorded history, originating, scholars believe, when nomadic herders observed birds of prey hunting and recognized their potential as partners.
MORE SPORTS
Jan 5, 2025
Tokyo falconers keep ancient traditions soaring
While a recent showcase was all about fun and education, like other sports involving animals, falconry is also serious business for competitors at the upper echelons of the sport.
Although meat consumption has been dropping, it's not happening quickly enough to meet climate targets, something to keep in mind over the holidays.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2024
Why are my vegan friends going back to meat?
Helping people eat healthier diets with more fruit, vegetables and fiber would have enormous benefits for human well-being and the planet.
A sign warns of a nearby bear sighting in Takikawa, Hokkaido, on Oct. 17.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Dec 30, 2024
Hokkaido 2024: Looking back on Rapidus, bears and shinkansen
The key topics are expected to continue making headlines in 2025.
Cats sit on steps at Grazing Plains Farm in Newton, Kansas, in May. Researchers are keeping a close eye on the mounting cases of bird flu infections in cats.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 28, 2024
New bird flu mutation discovered in U.S. as cat infections cause alarm
Several experts cautioned that it was too early to determine whether these changes would make the virus more transmissible or more severe in people.
A bear trap in Hokkaido Prefecture. Bears have recently been found inside homes and shops.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 27, 2024
Increasing number of Japanese bears find human dwellings ‘just right’
Cases of bears making their way into homes and shops are on the rise across the country as the animal's natural food sources become scarce.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom stands with Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng at an event welcoming pandas to the San Diego Zoo on Aug. 8. American intelligence agencies have warned of influence operations targeting city halls and statehouses. But what's in it for Beijing?
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 22, 2024
As China seeks influence, it has a cuddly way into city hall: pandas
Records and interviews show that Beijing has used pandas as leverage to shape policy on Taiwan and to cultivate relationships with local U.S. politicians.
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
LIFE / Digital / Japan Pulse
Dec 17, 2024
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
Cat memes continued to thrive and evolve in 2024. In Japan, they're not just for jokes — they’re for storytelling, venting and a little therapy.
Efforts to reduce methane emissions from dairy cows in the U.K. using the feed additive Bovaer, proven safe and effective, have sparked public backlash fueled by misinformation and conspiracy theories.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2024
No, sanitizing cow burps won’t sour your milk or contaminate your cheese
The problem the project addresses is real enough. Beef and dairy products are extremely carbon-intensive food items.
There is no guarantee that bird flu will ever begin transmitting between humans, and U.S. health authorities have emphasized that the risk to the general public remains low.
WORLD
Dec 12, 2024
'Knocking on our door': Experts warn of bird flu's pandemic threat
U.S. health authorities have emphasized that the risk to the general public remains low.
A sign warns of a nearby bear sighting in Takikawa, Hokkaido, in October.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 9, 2024
Firearm permit ruling casts shadow over work of Hokkaido bear hunters
A local high court upheld a decision to strip a hunter of his permit over allegations he fired in the direction of buildings during a culling.
Makoto Nakae, a researcher of swallowtail butterflies
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Dec 9, 2024
New museum set to bring butterflies of the world to Fukushima
The collection includes Japan’s only display of an extinct butterfly species native to South America.
Masayo Ishimaru, the head of volunteer group Tanpopo no Sato, cuddles cats rescued from a pet hoarder, in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, in September.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 4, 2024
Local governments tighten rules on pet ownership as hoarding persists
Municipalities are introducing mandatory reporting requirements for owners of large numbers of pets as well as fines for non-compliance.
A brown bear in Hokkaido. In the city of Akita, a bear that attacked a supermarket employee over the weekend was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 2, 2024
Bear that attacked Akita supermarket employee captured
The animal, which attacked a 47-year-old male employee on Saturday morning, was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.
Mika Abe (right) opened a restaurant committed to animal welfare in Sendai in November.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Dec 2, 2024
Restaurant committed to animal welfare opens in Sendai
Muku offers dishes including grilled pork from pasture-raised pigs and poached eggs from cage-free chickens, served as part of a salad bowl.
A trainer feeds an elephant at the Elephant Conservation Center in Laos' Sainyabuli province on Oct. 13.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Nov 30, 2024
Researchers analyze DNA from dung to save Laos elephants
Once abundant in the forests of Laos, Asian elephants have been decimated by habitat destruction, poaching and scarce breeding opportunities.
Hyogo Prefectural Police headquarters. A wild boar attacked children and staff at a child care facility in the prefecture on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 27, 2024
Wild boar injures six at Himeji child care facility
A 3-year-old boy was hospitalized after sustaining serious injuries from the attack.
Global beef consumption has slowed and the carbon footprint of the global cattle herd may already be declining.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 26, 2024
Peak beef could already be here
Global beef consumption has slowed and the carbon footprint of the global cattle herd may already be declining.
A pig that is pregnant with piglets suited for cross-species transplants
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 25, 2024
Startup transplants pig kidney into monkey for first time in Japan
It is hoped that the operation will provide insights into the future use of animal kidneys in humans.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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