Tag - water

 
 

WATER

A sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Feb. 5
JAPAN / Society
Feb 21, 2025
Japan to promote digital transformation for water systems
This move follows a road collapse incident in Saitama Prefecture, last month, believed to have been caused by a broken sewage pipe.
Rafael Grossi (left), director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya at a joint news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2025
Japan and IAEA to boost cooperation on Fukushima No. 1 decommissioning
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and IAEA chief Rafael Grossi discussed the nuclear plant and the release of treated water from the facility into the ocean.
Work to dismantle wastewater storage tanks are under way at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant as part of steps to decommission the entire facility.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2025
U.N. nuclear chief to view soil removed from Fukushima
Workers at the wrecked plant on Japan's northeast coast last week began dismantling wastewater storage tanks to free up space for tons of nuclear debris.
The top lid of a tank at the "J9" area is removed at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 15, 2025
Tepco takes on challenge of making space for Fukushima nuclear debris
Workers at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant have started dismantling water storage tanks to free up space for tons of nuclear debris.
The treated water storage tanks planned for dismantling, shown to members of the press at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Thursday
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2025
High wind halts dismantling of Fukushima nuclear plant's water tanks
The dismantling had been seen as a milestone in Tepco's decades-long project to decommission the stricken plant, which went into meltdown after it was hit by a tsunami in 2011.
Yellowtail is unloaded in Himi, Toyama Prefecture. Japan is looking to expand yellowtail exports to the United States, with China's blanket ban on Japanese fishery products still in place.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 9, 2025
JETRO to support yellowtail exports to U.S.
JETRO hopes to help expand sales channels for the fish in the United States, where Japanese cuisine has become popular amid an increase in health conscious consumers.
Tanks containing water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant at the facility in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, in March 2023
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2025
Fukushima plant operator to dismantle treated water tanks next week
The step is a milestone of a sort as Tokyo Electric Power Company moves ahead with a decades-long project to dismantle the entire plant.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2025
IAEA chief to visit Japan nuclear power plants this month
Rafael Grossi will visit Tepco's Fukushima No. 1 power plant and an interim storage facility for soil from radiation decontamination work.
Mayor Masanori Yamamoto of Kibichuo, Okayama Prefecture, announces the results of PFAS blood concentration tests on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2025
PFAS blood test results in Okayama Prefecture town exceed U.S. standards
The Kibichuo town government announced the results of its first blood tests after PFAS were detected at a water purification plant in the town.
The producer price index in 2024 rose 2.3% from the previous year to 122.6, against 100 for the base year of 2020, a Bank of Japan report showed Thursday. The index was up for the fourth year in a row.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 16, 2025
Japan's producer price index hit record high in 2024
The producer price index, which measures the costs of goods traded between companies, rose 2.3% from the previous year to 122.6.
Japanese imports of seafood are seen in a supermarket in Hong Kong in July 2023.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 24, 2024
China and Japan expected to discuss seafood ban on Wednesday
Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya's one-day visit to Beijing, on China's invitation, is his first since assuming his role in October.
The Self-Defense Forces facilities are believed to have become sources of PFAS contamination because they used firefighting foam containing the toxic chemicals in the past.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 24, 2024
High levels of PFAS found in water from 44 private suppliers across Japan
Among them are five that supply water to Self-Defense Forces facilities.
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 20, 2024
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The inspection follows a reported leak in August of water containing "forever chemicals" outside the U.S. base in western Tokyo.
The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2024
IAEA team arrives in Japan for third review of N-plant water release
The mission will conduct safety inspections and meet government and Tepco officials.
Elementary school children offer prayers in front of the photograph of Tetsu Nakamura in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Nov. 24, five years after his death.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2024
Nakamura's wishes for Afghanistan live on five years after his death
The Japanese doctor worked in the country for many years providing medical assistance and building irrigation canals.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces measures to counter the spread of "forever chemicals" in drinking water in the Upper House of parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 3, 2024
Japan eyes new PFAS regulations for drinking water by spring
Water suppliers nationwide must upgrade their safety standards to counter the spread of "forever chemicals."
The infrastructure ministry and environment ministry released a survey on levels of PFAS, potentially carcinogenic chemicals, found in drinking water supplied across Japan as of Sept. 30.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2024
No excessive levels of PFAS found in tap water across Japan
No drinking water suppliers nationwide had PFAS levels in excess of the limit of 50 nanograms per liter of tap water in fiscal 2024.
A resident of Kibichuo in Okayama Prefecture takes a blood test in the town on Monday.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2024
PFAS blood tests start in Okayama Prefecture town
About 800 residents are expected to take a blood test under the program, which runs through Dec. 8.
The National Consumer Affairs Center reported 1,997 consultations about water dispensers nationwide last fiscal year — an increase 1.4 times that of the previous year.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2024
Misleading water dispenser contracts in Japan lead to surge in inquiries
The National Consumer Affairs Center reported 1,997 consultations nationwide last fiscal year — an increase 1.4 times that of the previous year.
Rice fields in the town of Ozu, Kumamoto Prefecture. The water-filled paddies glistening under the sun is a symbol of a long-running effort to preserve the prefecture’s groundwater.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Nov 17, 2024
Japan's chipmaking rush pressures Kumamoto's special water supply
TSMC and others hope that support for existing projects and proper wastewater management can avoid undermining water development efforts lauded by the U.N.

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