Examining the potential economic impact of the quake in Japan's agricultural capital of Hokkaido
Hokkaido, which was struck by a strong earthquake overnight, is a famed area for agriculture and open spaces that accounts for about 3.5 percent of the nation's economy. While there are no economic projections on the damage yet, the magnitude 6.7 quake is the latest ...
Beijing will close 2,500 small polluting firms this year in its latest effort to combat pollution, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday, citing the municipal government. Pollution is a sensitive topic in China, with thousands of protests sparked every year by concerns about environmental ...
Retracing forced laborers' journey, Koreans finally bring their loved ones home from Hokkaido
A decade-long effort by civic groups in Japan and South Korea culminates in a 3,500-km journey to bring back the remains of wartime forced laborers.
The Obama administration has set a new U.S. ozone standard, tightening limits on the smog-forming pollution linked to asthma and respiratory illness. Officials familiar with the plan but not authorized to speak on the record said the Environmental Protection Agency will set a new standard ...
When industry works in step with nature
It was about 15 years ago when an old friend, Yoshito Umezaki, invited me to dinner in Tokyo to meet a friend of his named Masayoshi "Mike" Ushikubo — "a really great guy who loves mountains, travels all over the world and is a ...
In Sabae, Fukui Prefecture, the nation's center of eyeglass frame production, manufacturers are trying new business avenues to survive, such as tying merchandise to an animated film or producing medical equipment. With its share of domestic production in excess of 90 percent, Sabae has led ...
Plenty of industry left in post-industrial America
The “decline” of manufacturing in the U.S. refers mostly to job loss, which is stark and long-term. Output itself continues to climb but with fewer workers.
