NEWSWORTHY
Office makeovers focus on comfort and productivity as activity-based working takes hold in Japan
The first thing Hiroaki Ninoyu does almost every day when he arrives at work is head to the meditation room. He begins his half-hour ritual at 7:30 a.m. in a Japanese-style room equipped with soothing sounds and lighting effects. Thanks to meditation, "I can focus on ...
Number of abandoned homes in Japan edges up to record high of nearly 8.5 million
Empty homes now account for 13.6 percent of Japan’s housing stock, with the bulk of them concentrated in Yamanashi and Wakayama prefectures, government data show.
Landlords cry foul as NYC climate bill targets Trump Tower and other skyscrapers
New York City has passed sweeping legislation to curb energy demand from some of its most iconic skyscrapers, including Trump Tower. The legislation, approved 45 to 2 in the City Council Thursday, is backed by Mayor Bill de Blasio and will push owners of residential ...
Both the company and the authorities need to determine why such a large-scale faulty construction was allowed to happen and take steps to ensure such problems aren't repeated in the future.
'French Spiderman' Alain Robert is arrested after free-climbing stunt snarls London's financial hub
French urban free climber Alain Robert was arrested Thursday after bringing parts of London's financial district to a standstill by scaling the 46-story Heron Tower, the area's tallest building. The 56-year-old, also known as the "French Spiderman," took around an hour to climb the 230-meter-tall ...
Carrot nanomaterial found to make cement stronger and greener
Crunchy and tasty, yes, but could carrots also strengthen cement and cut carbon dioxide emissions for the building industry? A group of researchers at Britain's Lancaster University has been using a household food blender to mix particles from the root vegetable with concrete to see ...
Historic Tokyo house to become gathering place for executives and entrepreneurs
A 91-year-old historic residence in Tokyo will turn into a business hub starting next month with a goal of helping company executives and entrepreneurs cultivate new ideas and communicate freely, operators of the facility announced Wednesday. The Spanish-style house located near Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo's ...
Japan to promote use of empty buildings as satellite offices
The land ministry aims to support efforts to utilize the country's empty buildings as satellite offices or shared workspaces, according to informed sources. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry hopes to have related costs included in its budget request for fiscal 2019, which starts ...
Sony opens experimental 'park' in Ginza
In what appears to be an unusual mix, tech giant Sony Corp. opened a "park" in the middle of the Tokyo's ritzy Ginza district on Thursday with four subterranean levels. Ginza Sony Park was built at the site where the Sony Building, a former landmark, ...
Malaysia's Najib Razak is out of power but his legacy lives on in giant skyscraper
As Malaysia seeks to move beyond the excesses associated with nearly a decade of rule under ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak, one of his pet projects continues to rise irreversibly skyward to become the tallest building in Southeast Asia. Just months from completion, Exchange 106 — ...
Alex Kerr on Japan: From 'voice in the wind' to vindication
A quarter-century after his first book warned Japan of what it had to lose, Alex Kerr feels the nation is finally on the same page.
Buying or building your dream home in Japan can be nearly impossible.
