Search - environment

 
 
An Afghan man rests in a mosquito net tent beside a loaded truck outside a U.N. refugee repatriation center in Nowshera, Pakistan, on Aug. 27.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Oct 21, 2025

Climate change and population growth threaten to spark malaria resurgence

Insufficient funding for increasingly costly prevention programs risk eroding efforts made against the mosquito-borne illness, campaigners say.
People ride their motorbikes during rush hour in Hanoi in August.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 21, 2025

Japan warns Vietnam of job losses as Hanoi motorbike ban hits Honda

In July, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued a directive prohibiting gas-powered motorbikes from entering the center of the capital from the middle of 2026.
With the recent sumo jaunt to London being essentially a goodwill exercise, <i>rikishi</i> were far more outgoing and relaxed than normal.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Oct 22, 2025

London exhibition perhaps sumo's most successful trip abroad

Over the course of the tournament, sumo received wall-to-wall coverage in mainstream British media.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi poses with members of the newly formed Cabinet on Tuesday night.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 22, 2025

Japan's first female PM promised more women in her Cabinet. She picked two.

Takaichi appointed just two women to her 18-member Cabinet on Tuesday, despite promising high levels of female representation earlier.
Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force personnel march during the joint multinational exercise Garuda Shield 2025 at the Baturaja combat training center in Lampung, Indonesia, last month.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 23, 2025

Takaichi to put defense push in spotlight in bid to satiate Trump demands

She is expected to raise Japan’s defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product by the end of this fiscal year, a move that could pave the way for further hikes.
Workers in Okinawa oxidize a pool of indigo dye, one of many regional textile craft traditions examined in Charlotte Linton's new book.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 24, 2025

New book scrutinizes sustainability of traditional Japanese textiles

In “Dyeing with the Earth,” an Oxford research fellow examines how Japan’s age-old textile traditions sometimes run counter to modern ideas of eco-friendly processes.
Florian Wiltschko’s interest in Shintoism began with a trip to Japan in his teens. He now serves as the supplicant priest at the 355-year-old Hisai Hachiman Shrine in Mie Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 24, 2025

Florian Wiltschko: ‘Shinto helps me understand and live within Japanese culture’

A Shinto priest from Austria talks about the origins of his spiritual journey and how he spends his days at a 355-year-old shrine.
New industry minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks during an interview at the ministry on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Oct 24, 2025

Minister eyes stricter regulations on large-scale solar farms

Ryosei Akazawa has pointed out that improperly installed mega solar power plants pose challenges for local communities.
A screenshot of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's international schools portal site
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2025

Tokyo launches English-language international school database

The initiative is intended to further improve the living environment for residents whose first language is not Japanese.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her fist as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of U.S. Navy personnel on board the U.S. Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the American naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2025

At first summit with Trump, Takaichi pledges 'new golden age' for alliance

The meeting was a crucial test of Takaichi’s diplomatic chops as she seeks to elevate the Japan-U.S. alliance while staving off pressure from the U.S. on defense spending.
Care worker and bodybuilder Hokuto Tatsumi helps a woman train at a care home for people with disabilities operated by Visionary in Aichi prefecture.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 28, 2025

Bodybuilders find new calling in Japan’s struggling care industry

A Nagoya firm is tackling Japan’s caregiver shortage by recruiting bodybuilders — offering gym perks, protein subsidies and purpose.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government issued a €300 million (¥53 billion) bond on Tuesday to fund flood defenses and other climate-related measures.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2025

Tokyo Metropolitan Government issues climate resilience bond

The money will be used to upgrade coastal protection facilities for the Port of Tokyo, develop sediment prevention facilities and enhance river flood resilience.
Participants march through Tokyo for the Tokyo Rainbow Pride parade in April last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Oct 29, 2025

Gender identity law reform stalls despite court rulings

Strong opposition from conservatives in parliament have dimmed prospects for reform.
Vehicles produced at the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Kentucky
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 29, 2025

Toyota to ship its U.S.-made vehicles to Japan

Tokyo has agreed to work toward allowing safety certified U.S.-made vehicles to be sold in Japan without undergoing additional testing.
KDDI said its AI service, which will be launched in spring 2026, will “protect the rights of content providers.”
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 29, 2025

KDDI enters into ‘responsible’ AI agreement with Google

The “responsible” AI service would only shows content that creators have given consent to.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell