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September 05, 2025
 

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DAMS

The Lhasa River, a major tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River, flows near the southern part of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. China’s new megadam project could become a geopolitical and ecological time bomb. Getty Images
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2025
The global perils of China’s new ‘superdam’ project
One might have expected the revelation of China's huge dam project to set off alarm bells worldwide. Instead, the reaction has been muted.
A man walks past a drilling machine damaged by protesters opposing the proposed 11,500 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Dam Project, in Parong, Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India, on Aug. 1.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 25, 2025
China's new mega-dam triggers fears of water war in India
Delhi estimates the Chinese dam will allow Beijing to divert as much as 40 billion cubic meters of water, or just over a third of what is received annually at a key border point.
People take photos in front of a large portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a government-organized tour at Potala Palace Square in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, on March 28.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 21, 2025
Xi pushes for mega-dam and rail links to boost Tibet development
The Yarlung Tsangpo hydropower project is set to become one of the biggest infrastructure projects in history.
A man sits in a boat on the waters of the Brahmaputra river near the international border between India and Bangladesh in the northeastern state of Assam, India, in 2018.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 21, 2025
China starts construction on world's largest hydropower dam in Tibet
The project is part of China's push to expand renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions.
A hydroelectric dam near Shannan in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in March 2025
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 10, 2025
Catastrophe on the roof of the world
As the source of 10 major rivers that sustain nearly 20% of the world’s population, the Plateau’s degradation threatens regional water security, food systems and biodiversity.
Construction near Mailuu-Suu in the Jalal-Abad region, Kyrgyzstan. Dams in Kyrgyzstan holding uranium mine tailings have become unreliable after a 2017 landslide.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 24, 2024
Unstable nuclear-waste dams threaten fertile Central Asia heartland
One more earthquake or landslide, and dams in Kyrgyzstan holding back radioactive waste water could burst, rendering the area uninhabitable.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 19, 2023
Global water reservoir volumes decline despite construction boom, study says
The decline in storage volumes was concentrated in the south, where water demand increased rapidly and new reservoirs didn't fill up as quickly as expected.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2023
Russia’s dam-busting is another war crime
Are dams fair game in warfare? Nuclear power plants? It’s not as if Vladimir Putin would care.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 7, 2023
Ukraine dam: When do attacks on civilian installations amount to war crimes?
Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine, inundating a populated region of the war zone.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 7, 2023
Kherson residents flee under fire after Kakhovka dam floods homes
Shelter could not be easily found, as water crept silently higher and higher on Kherson's streets.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 6, 2023
Ukraine dam supplying water to nuclear plant and Crimea is breached, unleashing floods
Kyiv accused Moscow of blowing up the dam from the inside in a deliberate war crime, while Russian-installed officials gave conflicting accounts, some blaming Ukrainian shelling.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 23, 2023
China's Mekong dams turn Thai fishing villages into 'ghost towns'
Local fishing communities who live by the river have seen their harvest fall since China built nearly a dozen dams upstream.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 6, 2023
Indonesia banks on dams to tackle water crisis — but at what cost?
Facing worsening water security concerns, the Southeast Asian nation is building more water retention dams, but the building process is causing its own new challenges.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 31, 2022
The world's biggest source of clean energy is evaporating fast
Dams are the world's largest source of clean energy, yet extreme weather is making them less effective in the battle against climate change.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 30, 2022
Evicted villagers pay a high price for India's hydropower push
The government has said hydropower, along with solar and wind, is vital to meeting India's pledge to get half of its energy from nonfossil fuel sources by 2030.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2021
With massive dams, China finds a weapon in water
Giant dams damage ecosystems, drive freshwater species to extinction, cause deltas to retreat and often emit more greenhouse gases than fossil-fuel power plants.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 25, 2021
'No other option': Deadly India floods bare conflicts from hydropower boom
Experts say rampant construction is adding to the burden weighing on rural communities across the Himalayas.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 14, 2020
Chinese dams under U.S. scrutiny in Mekong rivalry
Beijing has dismissed U.S. research saying Chinese dams have retained water to the detriment of downstream nations.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 14, 2020
'Sponge city': China tries new tack after centuries of trying to curb floods
In Chongqing’s ramshackle neighborhood of Old Street, down by the Yangtze River, shopkeeper Liu cleans up the mess from last month’s floods. She lines up dozens of pairs of sodden, mud-caked shoes on the pavement outside, appealing hopefully to a passerby. "I will sell at any price,” she says....
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Jul 25, 2020
Water wars: Mekong River another front in U.S.-China rivalry
The Mekong River has become a new front in the U.S.-China rivalry, environmentalists and officials say, with Beijing overtaking Washington in both spending and influence over downstream countries at the mercy of its control of the river's waters.
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.
Anger in Japan after Instagrammer drinks burial site offering
Foreign tourists visit a park near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in August.
Tamagotchi hatches 100 million shipments worldwide thanks to ’90s nostalgia
The latest version of Tamagotchi, called Tamagotchi Paradise, is awarded the best digital toy at Tokyo Toy Show on Aug. 28.
Bangladesh is a South Asian time bomb
Many Bangladeshis hoped that the overthrow of long-time leader Sheikh Hasina last year would revitalize the country’s democracy after an authoritarian lurch under the “iron lady.” Instead it has led to proliferating human-rights abuses, intensifying repression and widespread Islamist violence.
Musk voices support for anti-immigration rally in Japan
Elon Musk has voiced support for anti-immigration protest in Japan, where a "Japanese First" party saw gains in recent elections.
Xi — joined by Kim and Putin — delivers stark warning at military parade
Chinese leader Xi Jinping walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing on Wednesday.
Tamagotchi hatches 100 million shipments worldwide thanks to ’90s nostalgia
The latest version of Tamagotchi, called Tamagotchi Paradise, is awarded the best digital toy at Tokyo Toy Show on Aug. 28.
Why Stalin didn’t invade Hokkaido still largely unknown, 80 years after WWII
During a survey to collect the remains of victims from the Taito Maru, one of the vessels involved in the Three Ships Incident, a metal helmet was found near the stern of the vessel on Aug. 5, 1984, at Rumoi Port. No human remains were discovered.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.

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