20 years after Kyoto Protocol, where does world stand on climate?
On Dec. 11, 1997, representatives from over 150 nations gathered in Kyoto to hammer out what would become the world's first international agreement to control and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide. In a marathon nearly two-week negotiating session that ran into the early ...
Flawed Nissan and Subaru vehicle inspections seen as an issue of compliance rather than quality
People's trust in Japanese cars has been questioned following revelations that two domestic automakers that enjoyed strong reputations — Nissan Motor Co. and Subaru Corp. — allowed unauthorized employees to conduct final quality checks on finished vehicles. The scandal has caused Nissan to cut its ...
Rohingya asylum seekers face dim prospects of gaining refugee status in Japan
The plight of Rohingya Muslims has made headlines as the Myanmar military's escalating attacks against the ethnic group, often described in media reports as "one of the world's most persecuted minorities," have captured global attention. Following clashes between the country's military and Rohingya insurgents ...
Is Abe's free day care and kindergarten worth the cost?
Sunday's general election is over and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's gamble seems to have paid off. But politics never stops and Abe is now obliged to carry out what he promised during the campaign. One of Abe's most notable — and probably most costly — ...
Call it worm power. Takaaki Hirotsu is trying to harness the power of the nematode worm — a tiny, transparent roundworm that lives in soil or water — to detect all forms of cancer at their earliest stages. The use of nematodes for superearly cancer detection ...
Mayuko Toyota scandal brings to light how working as a Diet secretary can become a living hell
In the past few months, hardly a day hasgone by without a news story popping up on Japan's tabloid TV shows replaying Diet member Mayuko Toyota's now infamous rant. Toyota was taped heaping verbal abuse on her male secretary over mistakes he made. She can ...
High tech, IT and robots are at forefront of Japan's funeral industry boom
From a sutra-chanting humanoid robot to automated cemeteries, technological innovation is changing how Japanese deal with funerary rituals. As traditional family ties erode, people are opting for more affordable and convenient alternatives to conventional ceremonies and burial services. Here's a peek into how mourning the dead ...
Japan's free ambulance services stretched by aging population, nonemergency overuse
The sirens are going off about the state of ambulance services. Demand for ambulances, which respond to calls made to the emergency hotline, 119, has grown rapidly along with the population's pace of aging. As ambulances have been mobilized with greater frequency, emergency services are ...
Japan's anime pilgrimages give untrod real-world locales economic boost
The popularity of the blockbuster anime film "Your Name." went beyond movie screens, with fans flocking to the real-world locales depicted in the romantic fantasy. Gifu Prefecture has seen more tourists since its sites appeared in the movie. The city of Hida attracted more than ...
Is Japan's annual student achievement test worth the cost?
Japan's elementary and junior high school students have strong basic academic skills but struggle to solve complex questions, according to this year's nationwide achievement test results, which were released Monday by the education ministry. Since its launch in 2007, the test has been drawing attention ...
On July 28, the central government released what it called a scientific, specialized map of the country highlighting areas where highly radioactive nuclear waste from the nation's power plants might, or might not, be safely buried underground for as long as 100,000 years. The multicolored ...
Some Japanese brand legacies stand to profit from geographical indication; others, not so much
In the not so distant future, Kraft Parmesan, a household name for grated cheese with its distinctive green package sold by a Japanese dairy company, may disappear from shelves in Japan or reappear bearing a different name. That is one example of what may happen ...
