World Mar 14, 2021
Exports of U.S. plastic garbage rise, despite ban
Environmental watchdog groups say exporters are ignoring the new rules that went into effect last year.
Hiroko Tabuchi
For Hiroko Tabuchi's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
World Nov 13, 2020
How one firm drove influence campaigns for big oil across the U.S.
In early 2017 the Texans for Natural Gas website went live, urging voters to "thank a roughneck” and support fracking. Around the same time, the Arctic Energy Center ramped up its advocacy for drilling in Alaskan waters and in a vast Arctic wildlife refuge. ...
National Mar 4, 2008
Robots in all walks of life? Matter of time
At the Meiji University lab in a Tokyo suburb, engineering students are wiring a rubbery robot face to simulate six basic expressions: anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise and disgust. Hooked up to a database of words clustered by association, the robot Kansei (sensibility) responds to ...
Business Nov 27, 2007
Innovations make navigating in Second Life more lifelike
You can always spot the novices in the virtual reality world of Second Life: Their online characters, or avatars, stumble around awkwardly and walk into objects as their real-world users fumble with the keyboard controls. Now, technology from Japan could help make navigating online virtual ...
National Nov 5, 2007
PCs getting pushed aside by other, powerful gadgets
Masaya Igarashi wants ¥20,000 headphones for his new iPod Touch, and he's torn between Nintendo Co.'s Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 game consoles. When he has saved up again, he plans to splurge on a digital camera or flat-screen TV. There's one conspicuous omission from ...
National Oct 29, 2007
Scandals in food industry shatter safety myth
Ocean fresh sushi? Quality marbled beef? Exquisite confectionaries? Think again. Japan has been hit by a slew of food safety and false labeling scandals that is threatening to wreck its image as a country of culinary wonders, squeaky-clean factories and impeccable sanitation. In the most recent ...
Business Oct 6, 2007
Robot industry moves to aid seniors
If you grow old in Japan, expect to be served by a feeding robot, ride a voice-recognition wheelchair and hire a nurse in a robotic suit — all examples of cutting-edge technology to care for the country's rapidly graying population. With nearly 22 percent of ...
National Sep 20, 2007
Aso hip with comic book crowd
Former Foreign Minister Taro Aso is the clear underdog in the race to become the next prime minister. But among young fans of pop culture, Aso is king. An avowed booster of "manga" (comic books) and the animated films known as "anime," Aso has won ...
National Aug 27, 2007
Japan, China in a race to the moon with upcoming launches
Japan claims its project is the biggest since the Apollo missions put the first humans on the moon. China, hoping to pave the way for its own manned missions, says its probes will study the lunar surface to help plan a landing. But the big ...
National Mar 4, 2007
Soldier confirms wartime sex slavery
South Korea lashed out Saturday at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for disavowing Japan's responsibility for using Asian women as sex slaves for its troops in World War II. Abe said Thursday there was no proof that "comfort women" were forced into sexual slavery during the ...