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July 04, 2025
 

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NATURE

ENVIRONMENT
Aug 6, 2014
'Dead zone' in the Gulf of Mexico is the size of Connecticut: scientists
Scientists say a man-made "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico is as big as the state of Connecticut.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Aug 2, 2014
Toxic gypsy moths — a most unpleasant infestation
Living in the countryside, the usual casual greetings include an observation about the weather, but for the last six weeks around my home in northern Nagano Prefecture, everybody mentioned the caterpillars. Now it's the moths. I've never seen such a plague of them in the 34 years I've been here.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 26, 2014
As species die, what valuable knowledge dies with them?
In mid-June, The New York Times reported that U.S. President Barack Obama intends to use his executive authority to create the world's largest marine protected area in the south-central Pacific.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 19, 2014
If chimps inherit their intelligence, does that prove humans do, too?
Some people are smarter than others. And though animal intelligence is far less well studied, it turns out that within a particular population, say of chimpanzees, some animals are smarter than others, too — and these differences are heritable. To put it another way, some chimps' mothers are smarter...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jul 12, 2014
An audience with an island menace
By 8 o'clock on a warm early summer morning on Chichijima, one of Tokyo's Ogasawara Islands, bright sunshine was already threatening to overwhelm my light-sensitive eyes and the heat was cranking up in preparation for what I refer to as reptilian warmth.
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 8, 2014
Amazon rain forest grew after climate change 2,000 years ago
Swaths of the Amazon may have been grassland until a natural shift to a wetter climate about 2,000 years ago let the rain forests form, according to a study that challenges common belief that the world's biggest tropical forest is far older.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 3, 2014
Nature journal retracts STAP papers, citing 'critical errors'
Science journal Nature officially retracts two stem cell papers published by a team of Japanese and U.S. scientists whose “ground-breaking” work was undermined by errors.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 27, 2014
Tiny shrew has jumbo relatives: DNA study
A new mammal discovered in the remote desert of western Africa resembles a long-nosed mouse in appearance but is more closely related genetically to elephants, a California scientist who helped identify the tiny creature said Thursday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 19, 2014
Spiders across the world have a taste for fish, scientists say
English poet Mary Howitt's "The Spider and the Fly" doesn't tell the half of it: Spiders of course are happy to devour flies, but their appetites go beyond mere insects.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 14, 2014
Deep underground, water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink
If you want to find Earth's vast reservoirs of water, you may have to look beyond the obvious places like the oceans and polar ice caps.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2014
Severe penalties sought for Riken, Obokata over STAP scandal
A third-party reform panel set up by the government-backed Riken institute has called for severe penalties for stem cell researcher Haruko Obokata and her supervisors, and for the biology center where she works to be disbanded.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jun 7, 2014
Japan's efforts bring back 'extinct' species
Oriental stork 73; crested ibis 82; red-crowned crane 1,143; short-tailed albatross estimated 3,550. Those numbers of wild birds in Japan seem perilously low — and they are, especially when considered alongside the Japanese population of 126.75 million people — but in reality they are good news!...
WORLD
Jun 1, 2014
China, India may hinder U.S. steps on warming
U.S. President Barack Obama is set to take his boldest step to halt the rise of the oceans and stop the warming of the planet. But it won't be enough unless the rest of the world follows.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
May 31, 2014
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 company president who has a little problem."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / ANALYSIS
May 22, 2014
For 'dirty man of Asia,' Russian gas deal offers clean solution
"If I work in your Beijing, I would shorten my life at least five years," Premier Zhu Rongji, a career politician from Shanghai, quipped in 1999, referring to the notorious air pollution in China's northern capital.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 13, 2014
West Antarctic glacier thaw now 'irreversible,' study finds
Vast glaciers in West Antarctica seem to be locked in an irreversible thaw linked to global warming that may push up sea levels for centuries, scientists said on Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 21, 2014
Obokata beefs up defense with new papers
Embattled stem cell researcher Haruko Obokata submitted additional documents to the state-backed Riken Institute on Sunday to back up her denials of alleged misconduct in her research methods, and called for more time to prepare evidence, her lawyer said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 16, 2014
Obokata mentor, co-author: STAP cells just a ‘hypothesis’
Though evidence points to the existence of STAP cells, they are still only a hypothesis worthy of study, a co-author of the papers on the revolutionary but unproved method to create pluripotent stem cells says.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Apr 14, 2014
Tetrapod
Dear Alice,
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Apr 12, 2014
Swimming upstream to become a dragon
While shuffling back from my early-morning dip in a hot spring at Kambayashi Onsen, I noticed the fish in the garden pond. They had gathered, heads together, in a strange starlike cluster, as if for a piscine tête-à-tête. They were languorously wafting their tails slowly through the water as if barely...
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Onosato's yokozuna promotion causes rare quirk in new sumo rankings
Newly promoted yokozuna Onosato holds a copy of the latest banzuke ranking in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Over 900 earthquakes strike Tokara islands in space of two weeks
A screenshot shows many quakes occurring in the Tokara islands over the past 30 days, in this image taken from the U.S. Geological Survey website.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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