Okinawa’s famed coral reefs, bleached by a rise in sea temperatures; Kyoto’s geisha collapsing from the heat; and Tokyo’s landmark Skytree submerged in water — the future World Wide Fund for Nature Japan paints for this country isn’t kawaii in the slightest.
The 1964 Tokyo Olympics laid the groundwork for what the capital would look like in the decades that followed. However, it is the vision of environmental stress presented by the WWF — and not the 2020 Games — that is likely to weigh on Tokyo’s future.
Like many environmental warnings, however, the group allows for some hope: If we change our ways then things won’t be as bad as they could be. In Tokyo, that hope is personified by teenagers like Daiki Yamamoto.