Tag - water

 
 

WATER

Former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (left) visits the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2024
Ex-PM Suga inspects Fukushima nuclear plant
Suga may have partly intended to demonstrate his presence ahead of three by-elections for the House of Representatives later this month, observers said.
The U.S. military’s Kawakami Ammunition Depot in Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture. High levels of PFAS have been detected in well water around the facility.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Apr 15, 2024
U.S.-Japan pact hampers PFAS survey at U.S. facility in Hiroshima
The bilateral Status of Forces Agreement gives exclusive authority to the U.S. forces over the management of their facilities in Japan.
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.
People wait to collect drinking water on March 14 amid an ongoing water crisis in Bengaluru, which has been hit by drought.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2024
India’s most innovative cities are running out of water
Drought is crippling India's tech hubs of Bengaluru and Hyderabad, casting a dark shadow on these cities' attractiveness in the era of climate change.
Children wash their hands with a new public pump installed as part of a climate resilient water system in Inn Chey in Kratie Province.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Mar 31, 2024
Japan sits at the forefront of climate resilient infrastructure in Southeast Asia
Japanese businesses and government agencies are pouring billions of yen into various programs across Cambodia and Southeast Asia to reduce climate risks.
Blue pipelines to transport seawater, part of the facility for releasing treated radioactive water to sea from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, are seen during a treated water dilution and discharge facility tour for media, in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, last August.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 31, 2024
Experts from Japan and China discuss Fukushima water release
The two Asian powerhouses have spared over the issue since Japan began releasing the water into the Pacific Ocean last August.
The Monrovia NSU Challenger bulk carrier transits the expanded canal through the Cocoli Locks of the Panama Canal in April 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Mar 22, 2024
'We all need water': Panama's canal, and people, thirst for more
A severe drought last year caused water levels in Gatun Lake, which provides drinking water and is the main reservoir for the canal, to fall.
Mercian's vineyard in Koshu, Yamanashi Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Mar 18, 2024
Major Japanese beverage groups focusing more on sustainability
Initiatives have diversified to include water source preservation as well as winery tours under the theme of the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals.
Fisherman Masahiro Ishibashi (center) unloads a haul of tiger puffers in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, in February.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 6, 2024
Fukushima fishers strive to recover catches amid water concerns
The 2022 catch totaled 5,604 metric tons, roughly 20% of the yearly catch before the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Six months have passed since Japan started releasing treated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 4, 2024
Fukushima water release still vexing China-Japan ties
China-bound exports of Japanese fishery products in 2023 plunged by some 30% from the previous year in value terms.
A man pours water into a plastic tank at an evacuation shelter in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Feb. 1.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2024
Noto quake highlights aging water systems in depopulating areas
Nearly 22,000 homes in Ishikawa Prefecture are still without water, and the shortage has sparked debate on how to maintain services in depopulating areas.
The location of the water leak (left) and a close-up of the vent where the water was released at part of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 8, 2024
Tepco reports leak at Fukushima but says no contamination detected
The nuclear plant operator plans to remove soil from around the area that may have been contaminated by the 5,500 liters of radioactive water that leaked.
Noboru Ito (left) uses well water for a makeshift shower at his Real Hair Cutting You beauty salon in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 24.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 30, 2024
Businesses in quake-hit Japanese city tap well water to reopen
Their return to operations helps restore a sense of normalcy among residents.
Japanese public sentiment toward China worsened in 2023, with 86.7% of respondents saying they felt unfriendly toward China, up 4.9 percentage points from the preceding year, while 12.7% felt friendly, down 5.1 points.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 20, 2024
Japan public sentiment toward China worsens, Cabinet Office survey finds
The survey found that 86.7% of respondents felt unfriendly toward China, up 4.9 percentage points from the preceding year, while 12.7% felt friendly, down 5.1 points.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel speaks during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 18, 2024
U.S. envoy to Japan vows to continue calling out Chinese ‘hypocrisy’
Emanuel also gave a speech on what he described as Japan’s “groundbreaking accomplishments” in fields such as defense, economic growth and diplomacy.
Residents receive water in Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2024
Japan struggling to make water pipes quake-proof
In Ishikawa Prefecture, where a massive quake struck on New Year's Day, over 50,000 homes are still without water.
Scallops from Hokkaido are served at an event in Sao Paulo on Sunday to promote Japanese seafood.
BUSINESS
Jan 15, 2024
Japan promotes fishery products at event in Brazil
The move is meant to cut reliance on the Chinese market after Beijing banned seafood imports from Japan last year.
Columbia University researchers have found that on average, bottled water contain 110,000 to 370,000 tiny plastic particles in each liter, 90% of them nanoplastics.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jan 9, 2024
Bottled water has more plastic particles than previously thought
The discovery of nanoplastics, which could not be detected until recently, suggests that health concerns linked to plastic pollution may be dramatically underestimated.
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.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visit the cenotaph for atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima on May 21 during the Group of Seven summit. Zelenskyy’s visit to one of the two cities attacked with a nuclear weapon came amid Russia’s veiled threats to use its nuclear arsenal in its war against Ukraine.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2023
Images of 2023: Japan
Outside of the successful G7 summit, the year was not kind to PM Fumio Kishida's unpopular administration. A kickback scandal provided one final headache.

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