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March 26, 2025
 

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Blue pipelines to transport seawater, part of the facility operated by Tepco where treated radioactive water is released from the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant into the sea, are seen during a treated water dilution and discharge facility tour for foreign media in the town of Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, in August 2023.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2025
Tepco releases treated water from Fukushima plant for last time in fiscal 2024
The operator of the nuclear plant plans to discharge 7,800 tons of treated water containing tritium, a radioactive substance, into the Pacific during the current release.
Minister for Reconstruction Tadahiko Ito responding to a question at a group interview on Monday at the Reconstruction Agency
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025
Reconstruction minister vows to address Fukushima soil reuse
"It's natural that Futaba residents are concerned," Tadahiko Ito said of the envisaged plan to first consider reusing the decontaminated soil in the town.
Trash cans have been installed at Nara Park for the first time in about 40 years following a rise in littering alongside an increasing number of foreign tourists in recent years.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 5, 2025
Rise in tourists prompts Nara Park to install trash cans to protect deer
Increased littering in the park has created a health hazard for the protected animal.
A new study analyzing organs from deceased individuals found plastic particles accumulating primarily in the brain, with the highest concentrations in recent autopsies, raising concerns about long-term exposure despite unclear health effects.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2025
You might have plastic in your brain. Don’t panic — yet.
It’s unsettling, but the amount of plastic in your brain is probably less than the plastic spoon’s worth grabbing the headlines.
The Chip Mong Insee cement factory in Kampot province, Cambodia, on Jan. 9. An investigation has shown that the plastic credits sector relies heavily on the polluting cement industry to burn collected waste, despite concerns about health risks and carbon emissions.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Feb 20, 2025
'What would you have us do?': The plastic credits problem
Credits place no obligations on buyers to stop producing or using unrecyclable plastic that ends up in the environment.
As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 15, 2025
New street patrol helps Nara's deer clean up their act
Garbage dropped by tourists can pose a serious risk to Nara's famous deer, but a new group is cleaning up the town.
Kansai Electric Power's Takahama nuclear power station in Takahama, Fukui Prefecture
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2025
Kansai Electric proposes doubling Fukui-France nuclear waste shipments
It remains to be seen whether the prefectural government will support the revised plans. Fukui has long called for spent nuclear fuel to be taken out of the prefecture.
The Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2025
Kansai Electric to ship more spent nuclear fuel to France
The move comes as Fukui Prefecture, home to several nuclear plants, urges Kansai Electric to address shrinking storage capacity for spent nuclear fuel, the sources said.
52.0% of people questioned in a survey said they want to use containers to take leftovers home if they are provided free of charge, and 28.8% showed willingness to use takeout containers whether they are free or not.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2025
Survey finds 80% of people want to take leftover restaurant food home
14.5% of those surveyed answered that they have never left food in restaurants.
Solar panels, which typically last 20 to 30 years, will begin to reach the end of their service life in the next decade.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2025
Disposal of used solar panels emerging as challenge in Japan
The annual amount of solar panels discarded as waste is seen peaking at some 500,000 tons in the early 2040s, putting a major strain on industrial waste treatment facilities.
Nuclear fuel debris recovered from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant No. 2 reactor
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2024
Uranium detected in extracted Fukushima nuclear fuel debris
The debris was extracted from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant's No. 2 reactor.
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Dec 21, 2024
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
Flowing more than 4,300 kilometers from the Tibetan Plateau to Vietnam, the Mekong River is the lifeblood of the region. It also faces a spiraling problem with plastic.
Food loss happens at food-related businesses including-food makers, retailers and restaurants, as well as at households.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2024
Japan drafts more ambitious 60% goal for cutting business food loss by 2030
The government hopes to require food businesses to change practices such as rejecting foods and beverages that are close to their best-before date.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba visits the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Saturday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 14, 2024
Ishiba makes first visit as PM to crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant
The trip was apparently intended to demonstrate his administration's focus on revitalizing the disaster-hit Tohoku region.
In scrap yards lacking proper environmental safeguards, towering piles of scrap are at risk of collapse.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Dec 10, 2024
Japan to tighten regulations for electronic devices scrap yards
Local communities have expressed concerns over frequent fires and noise pollution.
Starbucks Coffee Japan will replace paper straws with plant-based biomass plastic straws from next month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 6, 2024
Starbucks in Japan to ditch paper straws for plant-based biomass plastic in 2025
The coffee company says the new straws are fully biodegradable in seawater and soil, and will not soften like paper ones.
Residents of Suttsu in Hokkaido attend a briefing session Saturday explaining a recent survey by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan in relation to building a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 1, 2024
Locals uneasy after Hokkaido nuclear waste survey results
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization of Japan (NUMO) briefed Suttsu residents on research regarding volcanoes and active tectonic faults near the town.
Plastic production is on track to triple by 2050, and microplastics have been found in air, fresh produce and even human breast milk.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Dec 1, 2024
Battle over curbing plastic output jeopardizes U.N. treaty hopes
The hoped-for treaty could be the most significant environmental protection deal since the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Environmental activists demonstrate in front of the convention center in Busan, South Korea, where delegates from around the world are seeking to reach a binding treaty against plastic waste.
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 29, 2024
Showdown looms on plastic treaty days before deadline
With just two days of talks left, countries seeking an ambitious treaty urged delegations that "have not moved a centimeter" to make compromises or "get out of the way."
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2024
Tepco eyes second test removal of Fukushima nuclear fuel debris
As in the previous test, the operator plans to use a fishing rod-shaped device to remove the debris.
Ozeki Onosato on doorstep of yokozuna promotion after latest title
Onosato celebrates after winning the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka on Sunday.
Japan's first foreign swordsmith opens workshop in Hiroshima Prefecture
Johan Leutwiler checks a sword he made at his workshop studio in the Kui district of Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture.
Tokyo court strips Unification Church of religious corporation status
Nobuya Fukumoto (far left), a lawyer for the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, known as the Unification Church, is surrounded by the media at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday after it ordered the group to be stripped of its religious corporation status.
Japan launches new Joint Operations Command to unify SDF branches
The head of the Self-Defense Forces' new Joint Operations Command, Gen. Kenichiro Nagumo, inspects an honor guard Monday morning at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
Applications for forgery-proof passports start in Japan
New Japanese passports will be printed using laser technology based on banknote printing techniques, making forgery more difficult.
Cherry blossom season kicks off in Tokyo after warm weekend
Blooms are seen on the Meteorological Agency's sample cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Monday.
Japanese wages likely to rise more than 5% again this year
Wages are set for another big increase this year as annual negotiations secure generous agreements.
Stay at home if Mount Fuji erupts, government panel says
Mount Fuji in November. For the first time, the government has released specific guidelines on how residents should act in the event that Mount Fuji erupts.
In pictures: Tokyo's weeklong celebration of baseball's best
Shohei Ohtani belts a home run in the fifth inning of the second game of the Tokyo Series between the Dodgers and Cubs.
What's the fuss over Ishiba's gift vouchers?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits for a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee to begin in Tokyo on Friday.

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