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April 03, 2025
 

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OCEANS

Members of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission have agreed to cut the 2024 catch quota for saury in the high seas in the northern Pacific in response to declining resources.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2024
Japan and others agree to cut northern Pacific saury catch quota
Nine economies agreed to introduce the rule to calculate catch quotas based on scientific evidence.
Former United States Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during the ninth Our Ocean Conference at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, in Athens, Greece, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 17, 2024
World leaders call on nations to swiftly ratify U.N. ocean treaty
Four countries have formally ratified the treaty, while 89 countries have signed it, expressing their intent to ratify it.
Japan and other countries are holding annual talks on saury catch quota.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2024
Japan and eight other countries discuss saury catch rules
Slated to run until Thursday, the talks will focus on setting calculation rules to allocate catch quotas.
Coral reefs bleach in the Great Barrier Reef as scientists conduct in-water monitoring during marine heat in Moore Reef, Australia, on Feb. 27.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 16, 2024
Coral reefs suffer fourth global bleaching event, NOAA says
At least 54 countries and territories have experienced mass bleaching among their reefs since February 2023.
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.
A helmet jellyfish recorded at depth in the Lurefjord, Norway. The creatures experience acute physical effects from short-term exposure to suspended sediment, which could be caused by deep-sea mining.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Apr 7, 2024
The weird deep-sea world, and how mining threatens it
Demand for metals such as lithium and nickel has driven a rush to take a stake in the seabed, with Japan being a major advocate of deep-sea mining.
Lawyers representing plaintiffs in lawsuits seeking damages for Minamata disease hold banners outside the Kumamoto District Court in the city of Kumamoto on Friday, criticizing the ruling as “unjust.”
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2024
Japan court rejects redress claims by unrecognized Minamata victims
Across Japan, nearly 1,800 individuals have filed similar lawsuits, with 1,400 cases consolidated in the Kumamoto district court.
Homes affected by sea level rise on Tierra Bomba Island, Cartagena, Colombia
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 22, 2024
Global sea level jumped due to El Nino and climate change, NASA says
The global average sea level rose by about 0.76 centimeters from 2022 to 2023 — nearly four times the increase of the previous year.
An offshore wind farm near Nysted, Denmark. Japan aims to become a major offshore wind power producer, with the government targeting projects totaling 10 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Mar 15, 2024
Japanese firms join forces to promote floating offshore wind
Floating offshore wind power is seen as a way to ensure Japan has a stable and sustainable energy supply.
Japan aims to have 10 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power projects by 2030 and up to 45 GW by 2040, to replace fossil fuels including coal and liquefied natural gas in its energy mix — for which floating offshore wind is essential.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 13, 2024
Japan to expand offshore wind development to exclusive economic zones
Global energy companies have been urging Japan to make investments more attractive, amid soaring costs and growing competition between suppliers.
The Rubymar cargo ship sinking off the coast of Yemen on Feb. 27. The vessel had 21,000 metric tons of ammonium phosphate sulfate fertilizer on board.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 6, 2024
Yemen faces 'environmental disaster' as sunken ship threatens Red Sea
Leaking fuel and fertilizer from vessel struck by Houthis could harm marine life and impact coastal communities that rely on fishing.
High tides in Funafuti, Tuvalu, in February. About 40% of the main atoll and capital district Funafuti is already underwater at high tide, and the tiny nation is forecast to be submerged by the end of the century.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 4, 2024
Tuvalu preserves history online as rising seas threaten existence
"We cannot outrun the rising tides, but we will do what we can to protect our statehood, our spirit, our values," minister Simon Kofe said.
A satellite image shows the Rubymar cargo ship on Friday after it was heavily damaged in a Feb. 19 missile strike claimed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
WORLD
Mar 3, 2024
Ship sunk by Houthis threatens Red Sea environment
The sinking marks the first vessel lost since the Houthis began targeting ships in November.
Yasuhiro Otomo and Miku Narisawa during one of Odyssey Nature Japan's educational fishing programs.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 22, 2024
A young 3/11 survivor and her vow to protect the ocean
At 12, Miku Narisawa experienced a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed her home. Now she is working to protect it.
An artist rendering of Japan's first Arctic research vessel, "Mirai II"
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2024
Japan's first arctic research vessel to be named "Mirai II"
The name was selected from over 7,000 suggestions from the public.
An aerial view of islands in Palau
WORLD / Politics
Jan 24, 2024
Palau becomes first nation to ratify U.N. high seas treaty
The so-called High Seas Treaty was adopted by U.N. member states in June, after more than 15 years of discussions.
Fishers sort scallops aboard a French fishing trawler in the English Channel in 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Oceans
Jan 18, 2024
Trawling the bottom of the ocean is kicking up tons of carbon dioxide
Many have opposed the practice for the damage it inflicts on seabed ecosystems, but new research shows that the climate also suffers.
Kotaro Seki, CEO of Ellange, in front of the truck that he uses to collect nets from fisheries
JAPAN / Society / OUR PLANET
Jan 7, 2024
Trash into treasure: Can fishing net waste be the future of fashion?
A pair of Japanese startups are looking to solve a problem for the nation's fisheries: What to do with old fishing nets.
Cargo ships wait in the anchor zone to cross the Panama Canal from the Pacific entrance near Panama City, Panama, on Sept. 1, 2023. Ships have been waiting for days as the congestion to cross from both sides increase due to intense droughts in the country.
WORLD / Society
Jan 3, 2024
Saving the Panama Canal will take years and cost billions, if it’s even possible
Climate change-induced drought is limiting the number of ships on the waterway, which handles about 46% of containers moving from Northeast Asia to the U.S. East Coast.
Devotees of Afro-Brazilian religions carry offerings to the sea as part of an annual rite in Rio de Janeiro on Dec. 29, 2023.
WORLD / Society
Jan 2, 2024
How to start the new year? Keep the sea goddess happy.
Followers of Afro-Brazilian religions have been displaced by New Year’s revelers. But they still find ways to make their offerings to the ocean.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
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.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
The U.S. says Japan has a 700% tariff on American rice. Is that the case?
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up a piece of paper with information about tariff rates at the White House on Tuesday.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
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.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.
No longer a 'bridesmaid': Yuki Tsunoda prepares for the Red Bull pressure cooker
All eyes will be on Yuki Tsunoda as he makes his Red Bull debut at the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.
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.

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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