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Rod Nickel
For Rod Nickel's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Oil pump jacks in Tatarstan, Russia, on June 4
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 21, 2023
Oil companies cautious about drilling as energy transition looms
Instead of spending big to boost output, oil companies are boosting dividends or buying back shares to reward investors.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Mar 9, 2023
Facing minefields and cash crunch, Ukraine farmers to sow smaller crop
Ukrainian farmers, who began planting spring crops last week, earn less than before as buyers factor in the war's higher costs and risks, giving them little incentive to maximize output.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 2, 2023
How Putin's war is poisoning Ukraine's breadbasket
Scientists looking at soil samples taken from the recaptured Ukrainian region of Kharkiv found high concentrations of toxins such as mercury and arsenic from munitions.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 28, 2023
Janet Yellen makes surprise visit to Kyiv to reaffirm U.S. economic aid to Ukraine
Yellen met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and other key government officials just days into the war's second year.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Jan 31, 2023
From ashes to fly larvae, new ideas aim to revive farm soil
Long-established soil preservation techniques are proving no match for more frequent droughts, floods and temperature extremes.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Nov 12, 2022
Dying lands: Farmers fight to save the 'skin of the Earth'
In America's dusty Corn Belt this spring, the land was drowning. In China's Yangtze River basin, it's bone dry. Farmers in both are fighting a losing battle to save the soil.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2022
This decade's oil boom is moving offshore — way offshore
Surging oil prices are encouraging the investments, along with mounting European energy demand as the Ukraine-Russia war drags on.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 14, 2022
In Canada's extreme north, grocery bills reach 'alarming' levels
Would you pay triple what you do now for a 12-pack of soda? If you live in Nunavut, you have no choice.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2022
From war to wild weather, global crop problems point to years of high food prices
The world has perhaps never seen this level of simultaneous agricultural disruption, according to agriculture executives, industry analysts, farmers and economists.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Sep 4, 2021
Drought forces North American ranchers to sell off their future
Liquidations of breeding stock are expected to limit cattle production in the coming years, tightening North America's beef supply and driving up consumer prices.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2021
Clean crude? Oil firms use offsets to claim green barrels.
Oil-and-gas companies worldwide are increasingly trying to market their products as cleaner using a range of controversial methods, including buying credits.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 14, 2019
Pacific trade deal spurs Canadian farm sales to Japan as U.S. looks on
At the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo last month, beef promoters flew in a chef from Canada to cook New York strip steaks for hungry Japanese importers and restaurant suppliers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2016
Canada's pampered pigs sate Japan's appetite for pricey pork
On select Canadian farms, thousands of pigs bound for Japan are basking in five-star treatment.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?