NEWSWORTHY
Plan to build airport on Japan's Ogasawara island chain advances but hurdles remain
Expectations are growing among residents of the Ogasawara Islands, an archipelago of over 30 subtropical islands some 1,000 km south of central Tokyo, that their long-awaited dream of having an airport may soon become a reality. The outlook for a possible airport has improved since ...
Chichijima family keeps Japan's earliest coffee cultivation tradition alive
On Chichijima, one of the Ogasawara Islands and known as the first place in Japan to grow coffee, a father and daughter have maintained a practice of coffee cultivation that ceased during World War II when all the islanders were forced to evacuate. Motomi Nose, ...
The Japan Coast Guard is planning to deploy patrol ships to the Ogasawara Islands, about 1,000 km south of Tokyo, with the aim of strengthening its capabilities of cracking down on illegal foreign fishing boats, a government official said Wednesday. Under the plan, an as-yet ...
Ogasawara Islands: Remote witnesses on the front lines of Japanese history
The Ogasawara Islands, also known as the Bonin Islands, have faced a number of unique — if not bizarre — developments over the course of history. Clustered in three groups, the volcanic, tropical chain of more than 30 islets about 1,000 km south of Tokyo ...
Ogasawara Islands: A distant archipelago, barely connected
Resplendent with pristine beaches, clear blue waters and outdoor activities aplenty, the Ogasawara Islands are a relaxing "Japan away from Japan."
Chinese fishing captain gets suspended sentence for poaching coral
The Yokohama District Court on Tuesday sentenced a Chinese fishing boat captain to 18 months in prison, suspended for four years, for poaching coral in Japanese territorial waters. The 43-year-old skipper, Lin Benzhang, was also fined ¥4 million for illegally collecting precious red coral last ...
Cat-catchers prowl Ogasawara Islands to help rare birds
Conservation groups are stepping up efforts to capture all of the feral cats living in the Ogasawara Islands in an effort to protect indigenous rare birds. The island chain, also known as the Bonin Islands, lies about 1,000 km south of Tokyo. More than 400 feral ...
Twelve ways to spend 2015 with nature
As 2014 winds down and the promise of another year lies ahead, it's time to come up with a few New Year's resolutions. Instead of planning for the future or trying some new-fad diets or exercise regimes, how about a resolution to spend a ...
Tokyo needs to work closely with Beijing to end Chinese fishermen's poaching of red coral in Japan's exclusive economic zone.
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. The panoramic view ...
One of the Ogasawara Islands is seeing a spawning migration peak for green sea turtles born after World War II. According to findings released Thursday by the Ogasawara Marine Center, there were 1,982 nests on Chichijima in 2013, the highest since the center started the ...
Nankai Big One could kill 1,800 in isles: metro team
Some 1,800 people in the Izu and Ogasawara island chains in the Pacific could be killed, mainly by tsunami, if the Nankai Trough off central and western Japan experiences a major temblor, the metro government says.
