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ENVIRONMENT / IN BLOOM

May 10, 2001

Fuji (wisteria)

By Linda Inoki

"Now that I have reached the age of 60, and my life seems about to evaporate like the dew, I have fashioned a lodging for the last leaves of my years. It is a hut where, perhaps, a traveler might spend a single night. Creeping vines block the trails and the valleys are overgrown, but to the west...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

May 10, 2001

Long-protected holy mountain to be gutted by highway project

By Stephen Hesse

Japan's Environment Minister, Yoriko Kawaguchi, recently told Mick Corliss of The Japan Times that she would like to incorporate an "environmental perspective" into public-works projects. If she is serious, there could be no better place to begin than Mount Takao.

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

May 4, 2001

River damselfly

By Rowan Hooper

*Japanese name: Kawatombo *Scientific name: Mnais costalis *Description: Damselflies perch with their wings folded shut (their bigger cousins, dragonflies, perch with their wings held open). There are many damselflies that live around rivers, but some male river damselflies have orange wings, making...

ENVIRONMENT / IN BLOOM

May 3, 2001

Hana Shobu (Japanese iris)

By Linda Inoki

There is nothing to equal the Festival of the Fifth Month, when the scents of the iris and sagebrush mingle so charmingly. The children are proud of themselves and keep looking at the flowers on their sleeves, comparing them with those of their companions. This is all delightful, as are the little...

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

May 3, 2001

How dung beetles came to save Australia

By Mark Brazil

For millions of years a whole host of landlubbers (mammals, reptiles, birds and insects) have been scouring the Earth for food and leaving behind the scraps of their meals and deposits of dung. Billions of creatures over thousands of millions of years, all dumping on the planet. Thank goodness for the...

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Apr 27, 2001

By Rowan Hooper

*Japanese name:Shiriage mushi *Scientific name: Panorpa japonica * Description: Males are unmistakable -- the abdomen is curled like a scorpion's. The wings, which are held flat when resting, are clear with black spots at the ends, and the head has a large "beak" that is used for feeding. Adults...

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH

Apr 26, 2001

New land law still ignores public voice

By Stephen Hesse

Owning property in Japan is a constitutional right, but it has its limits. The government can take private property for uses that advance the public welfare.

ENVIRONMENT / GARDENING FOR ALL

Apr 26, 2001

Monument to 800 years of daimyo power

By Gerard Taaffe

Sengan'en, a garden and former residence of the Shimazu lords of Kagoshima, is located on the shores of Kinko Bay, the innermost part of Kagoshima Bay. Officially called Sengan'en, it is also known as Iso Gardens. It was designated a national scenic landmark in 1958.

ENVIRONMENT / IN BLOOM

Apr 26, 2001

Tsutsuji (azalea)

By Linda Inoki

Presently two nuns clad in dark robes were seen making their way slowly and painfully down through the rough rocks of the mountainside. The Priestly Sovereign asked who they were, and the nun replied, "The one carrying a basket of mountain azaleas on her arm is the former Empress and the other,...

ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER

Apr 20, 2001

By Rowan Hooper

*Japanese name: Hanmyo *Scientific name: Cicindela chinensis japonica * Description: Tiger beetles have strong jaws and metallic blue, red and green bodies. The pattern on their bodies makes it difficult for them to be spotted by enemies -- and by us, too. You're most likely to see tiger beetles...

ENVIRONMENT / IN BLOOM

Apr 19, 2001

Yae-zakura (Double cherry blossom)

By Linda Inoki

"As for cherry blossoms, the single-petaled variety is preferable. The double-cherry trees formerly grew only at the capital in Nara, but lately they seem to have become common everywhere. The cherry blossoms of Yoshino and the 'left guard' tree of the palace are all single. The double-petaled cherry...

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Apr 19, 2001

Up to your ears in, um, you know, uh...

By Mark Brazil

About 18 months ago, someone who knew that I was a naturalist asked me, in all seriousness, why we humans shouldn't just eradicate all insects and similar creepy-crawlies.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.

What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

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