Tag - cities

 
 

CITIES

Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Jun 25, 2020
Time to do something about overpopulated Tokyo
The COVID-19 crisis should prompt renewed action to address the overconcentration of people and business in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 4, 2020
Rodrigo Duterte paying Filipinos to move from Manila to country
The coronavirus pandemic is giving Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte a reason to reduce overcrowding in Manila, which in recent decades has swelled into one of the most heavily populated areas on Earth.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 4, 2020
Japan's smart cities: Technological dreams or 'Big Brother' nightmares?
Late last month, the Diet passed a revised bill paving the way for so-called “super cities” or “smart cities.” Supporters tout them as high-tech marvels where artificial intelligence and big data are to be used to provide more efficient and cost-effective solutions to social problems, especially in areas faced with aging and declining populations and a reduced tax base. Opponents warn that data leaks could lead to privacy violations and even a surveillance state. Here’s a look at Japan’s Super City Initiative.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 3, 2020
Rethinking the world's largest cities in wake of COVID-19
Grammy award-winner Petula Clark famously sang that the "lights are much brighter" downtown, but the coronavirus pandemic may change city centers across the world, as more people choose to work remotely and companies ditch large office towers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 27, 2020
Japan enacts high-tech 'super city' bill
The government hopes to utilize cutting-edge technologies to address issues such as depopulation and the aging of society.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 24, 2020
Toyota and NTT sign capital tie-up over 'smart city' project
The auto and telecommunications giants said they will mutually invest around u00a5200 billion ($1.8 billion) by purchasing each other's treasury stocks.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Feb 17, 2020
From SARS to COVID-19, cities plagued by inequality bear brunt of outbreaks
As the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the new coronavirus, becomes the latest urban center to face a deadly disease outbreak, city planners and physicians say such densely packed hubs are particularly vulnerable and may need a redesign.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 7, 2020
Toyota to build 'city of the future' at the base of Mount Fuji
The auto giant plans to have it function as a laboratory for autonomous cars, smart homes, artificial intelligence and other technologies.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 3, 2020
City dwellers find simpler life in rural China commune
Yang Zhaoyu quit his job in a big Chinese city nine months ago and moved to a small community that preaches sustainable living and mindful consumption.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2019
'Smart cities' urged to look beyond rich white men and target those in need
A growing push to put cities on a digital path to a greener future risks excluding groups like the poorest, disabled and elderly, and will fail to benefit those people unless technology is used to help meet their needs, rights advocates have warned.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 21, 2019
Greener cities lower rates of premature death, research shows
City dwellers tend to live longer if they are in leafy neighborhoods, according to a study published earlier this week that linked green areas to lower rates of premature death.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 13, 2019
New York beats Tokyo to become world's top innovative city
New York took first place in a list of the world's most innovative cities on Tuesday, with the United States performing strongly for its embrace of smart technology and startups.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 26, 2019
Australia increases visas for those willing to live outside major cities
The Australian government said on Saturday it is increasing the number of visas for skilled workers willing to migrate to the country's regions in a bid to ease pressure on major cities, where populations are growing twice as fast as elsewhere.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / ANALYSIS
Oct 18, 2019
Land-scarce Hong Kong sees solution in 'underground urbanism'
When authorities drew up a plan to make Hong Kong a hub for Asia's wine trade, they faced a big challenge: where to store the bottles in a city that was fast running out of space. So they went underground.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2019
Kyoto again secures No. 1 spot for best city outside of Tokyo
The former capital retained its spot as the metropolis with the greatest strengths thanks to its allure as a tourism destination, a think tank said.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 5, 2019
Sleepy to sleepless? Hopes and fears abound in Indonesia's future capital in the forest
By day, the unforgiving sun glares off the road beside Ipah's wooden home as passing motorbikes stir swirls of dust. By night, the beams of occasional trucks carrying coal or palm fruits pierce the darkness. This remote corner of Indonesia is set to be transformed from a forest backwater on Borneo into a global city — a new capital of the world's fourth-most-populous country, with 260 million people.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 21, 2019
Green-tech megacity taking shape in China
Entrepreneur Tony Verb is on a mission to promote technology that can help make cities greener and smarter in China's Greater Bay Area, now being shaped as a low-carbon megalopolis.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jun 18, 2019
Sky's the limit: Rise of delivery drones has U.S. cities asking who owns airspace
Blacksburg was already well prepared when the U.S. government announced in April that the Virginia town would be home to the country's first commercial drone delivery service.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 9, 2019
Land is key ingredient missing from U.S. Green New Deal, experts say
Amid the rollout of a high-profile climate proposal in Congress, some are warning that a major gap exists around urban land policy.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 18, 2019
As cramped Hong Kong eyes $64 billion island-building plan, critics say developers are hoarding unused land
Hong Kong's government says it needs to build billions of dollars' worth of artificial islands to give the city's glittering skyline room to grow, but critics say developers are hoarding unused land that could solve the problem.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores