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August 26, 2025
 

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OCEANS

ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 31, 2019
Great Barrier Reef in 'very poor' condition, Australian five-year review finds
Reuters — Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in very poor condition because of climate change, overfishing and land clearing, a state agency said on Friday as it downgraded the reef's status to the lowest level, which could jeopardize its World Heritage status.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 26, 2019
Inventor Boyan Slat's mission: Shrink Great Pacific Garbage patch 90% by 2040
Boyan Slat, 25, is an ambitious social entrepreneur. His goal: Reduce 90 percent of an estimated 80 million kg of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean, covering an area more than three times the size of France, by 2040. And do it with a technology he likens to raking leaves.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 23, 2019
In breakthrough that could aid depleted reefs, Florida scientists induce spawning of Atlantic coral in lab
Scientists in Florida have artificially induced reproductive spawning of an endangered Atlantic coral species for the first time in an aquarium setting, a breakthrough they say holds great promise in efforts to restore depleted reefs in the wild.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2019
Japan's Environment Ministry plans to boost ocean cleanup budget in bid to tackle plastic waste
The Environment Ministry plans to substantially increase its budget for reducing plastic waste in the ocean in fiscal 2020, in line with an action plan adopted by relevant Cabinet ministers in May, informed sources said Thursday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 7, 2019
Britain undertakes first coastal 'sandscaping' to save homes as seas rise in changing climate
A giant sand dune is being built on England's east coast to save 400 homes from storm surges, in Britain's first attempt to use "sandscaping" to stave off rising seas and prepare for a changing climate, engineers said on Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2019
Japan to propose larger quotas for Pacific bluefin tuna
Japan plans to propose an expansion of catch quotas for bluefin tuna in the Pacific Ocean at an international meeting in the United States in September, informed sources have said.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 16, 2019
A vision for protecting the world's oceans
The Group of 20's adoption of the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision is a welcome step forward, but effective follow-up is the only way it will make a real difference.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 3, 2019
Deep sea mining could destroy 'our last frontier,' environmentalists say
As India readies for the United Nations to give a green light to deep sea mining and boost its economy, the environmental group Greenpeace said on Wednesday that drilling the seabed could cause irreversible harm and worsen climate change.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 30, 2019
Japan's return to commercial whaling brings criticism from conservationists and praise from industry players
Following its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission, Japan will resume commercial whaling within the country's exclusive economic zone.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2019
Bottled water giants back new global plan to cut plastic waste
The world's biggest yoghurt maker, Danone, and food packaging giant, Tetra Pak, are among companies leading a global scheme to reduce plastic waste, launched on Tuesday, as public concern rises over the environmental damage caused by rubbish.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 1, 2019
U.S. biologists probe deaths of 70 emaciated gray whales
U.S. government biologists have launched a special investigation into the deaths of at least 70 gray whales washed ashore in recent months along the U.S. West Coast, from California to Alaska, many of them emaciated, officials said on Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 26, 2019
Eyeing commercial operations in Arctic, Russia launches first of three nuclear icebreakers
Russia on Saturday launched a nuclear-powered icebreaker, part of an ambitious program to renew and expand its fleet of the vessels in order to improve its ability to tap the Arctic's commercial potential.
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2019
Redouble efforts to reduce plastic waste
Second only to the United States in the world in terms of per-capita volume of single-use plastics, Japan must increase its efforts to reduce plastic waste.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
May 10, 2019
Unique genetic adaptation lets deep-sea fish see color in darkness
While people and other vertebrates are color blind in dim light, some deep-sea fish may possess keen color vision to thrive in the near total darkness of their extreme environment thanks to a unique genetic adaptation, scientists said on Thursday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 5, 2019
More marine heat waves threatening fish and corals: study
The frequency of ocean heat waves has surged more than 50 percent since the early 20th century in a threat to fish, corals and other marine life stoked by global warming, an international study showed on Monday.
JAPAN / Beyond Tokyo
Feb 24, 2019
As the world drowns in plastic, Kameoka in Kyoto and other cities across Japan fight back
Plastic pollution in the ocean has become one of the world's most urgent environmental problems. Footage of vast fields of floating plastic debris between California and Hawaii — now commonly known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — have driven home the gravity of the problem, with scientists and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Feb 17, 2019
Okinawan fishermen reel in two live oarfish, eat portion of one
Two rare deep-sea oarfish caught in fixed nets off Toya port on the southwest side of Okinawa stunned the local fishing community last month for simply being alive.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 10, 2019
Sightings of rare deep-sea oarfish around Japan stoke concerns of an impending quake
Numerous reports of oarfish — a rarely seen deep-sea species — captured or spotted in waters around Japan since the beginning of the year have sparked concern that an earthquake could strike soon.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 25, 2019
Japan's commercial whaling may have two silver linings: freeing up the IWC and sparing the Southern Ocean
The condemnation of Japan became louder with the announcement that Tokyo would leave the International Whaling Commission, but is there a benefit to this?
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jan 11, 2019
Ocean temperatures rising faster than thought in 'delayed response' to global warming: scientists
The world's oceans are rising in temperature faster than previously believed as they absorb most of the world's growing climate-changing emissions, scientists said Thursday.
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
JICA to designate four Japanese cities as 'hometowns' for African nations
The Japanese flag (left) with the flag of the African Union
Man arrested in Kobe stabbing had been staying at hotel near victim’s home
Masashi Tanimoto arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a woman in Kobe, is sent to prosecutors on Sunday.
Japanese prefectures break with labor ministry on minimum wage
The ministry of labor has suggested a 6% minimum wage increase, but most prefectures reporting so far are opting to go slightly higher.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Is the LDP’s catch-all approach to politics still effective?
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15. Political commentator Toru Hashimoto has suggested that Takaichi ought to lead a group of like-minded hawkish politicians out of the Liberal Democratic Party and form their own party.
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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