Music Oct 29, 2019
Industrial JP: Bringing Japan's factories to the dancefloor
by Alisa Yamasaki
Industrial JP has embarked on a project to document the sounds of Japanese factories and turn them into music fit for the dancefloor
National Sep 6, 2018
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 ...
World Jan 9, 2016
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 ...
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Nov 18, 2015
Retracing forced laborers' journey, Koreans finally bring their loved ones home from Hokkaido
by Kayoko Kimura
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.
World / Science & Health Oct 2, 2015
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 ...
Environment | OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK May 31, 2014
When industry works in step with nature
by C.W. Nicol
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 ...
National Nov 7, 2013
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 ...
Commentary / World Apr 10, 2013
Plenty of industry left in post-industrial America
by Robert Samuelson
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.