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April 30, 2024
 

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OUR PLANET EARTH

ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 27, 2000
Hague climate change talks getting lost in niggling details
They say "the devil is in the details," and so it was at The Hague recently during negotiations of the sixth Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Two weeks of stonewalling and hairsplitting, and we are really no closer to dealing with the global warming problem than we were three years ago in Kyoto. The analogy that comes to mind is a group of sailors, so busy poring over conflicting weather forecasts that they are oblivious to the black clouds boiling over the horizon.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 12, 2000
On taking the eightfold path to environmental awareness
Environmentalists are a hard breed to pin down, much less to classify. They come in all shapes and sizes, and some even reject the name.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 23, 2000
Clock tolls for environmental action
Mika Suzuki may not be a professional designer, but her keen eye and concern about the environment recently won her the top prize in a Tokyo eco-design contest.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 9, 2000
When micropower comes of age: an alternative to nuclear power?
Two weeks ago Taiwan's economic minister, Lin Hsin-i, proposed that his nation give up plans to build a fourth nuclear power plant, despite having already spent several billion dollars on the project.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 25, 2000
CNIC report lights up the dark side of Japan's nuclear power industry
One year ago this week, a nuclear fuel processing plant in Tokai-mura, Ibaraki Prefecture, experienced a "criticality." That accident shattered once and for all the crumbling myth of safety that has encased Japan's nuclear power industry, and changed the way Japanese view nuclear power.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 19, 2000
Program laying groundwork to conserve rivers and trails
John Monroe jokingly refers to himself as a "conservation venture capitalist." Unlike most investment bankers, however, Monroe is investing for the long term.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 28, 2000
General Motors humming along -- never mind the environment
A vacation is such a wonderful chance to seek out the unusual and inexplicable. This month my family and I are immersed in a foreign culture, intrigued and perplexed by the ways of an alien people. Most confounding, this culture is my own.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 21, 2000
Yokohama student to champion environmental concerns of youth
Rieko Kubota, who is 20 years old and a second-year student majoring in economics at Yokohama City University, is not your average Japanese university student.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 24, 2000
Persistent organic pollutants: toxic chemicals here to stay
The acronym POPs sounds harmless enough, bringing to mind glasses of bubbly champagne and harmless fireworks. The reality is far less celebratory.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 17, 2000
Dioxin found deadly for sure -- and they're pumping it out
First, the good news.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 26, 2000
Is there free speech in Japan? Greenpeace activists arrested
"For the sake of good environmental policy, it is necessary to have freedom of expression which forms public opinion." These are the words of Sweden's environment minister, part of a press release issued in March 1999, following the arrest of several Greenpeace activists who were in Tokyo protesting PCBs in children's toys.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 19, 2000
Sure, Japanese rice is expensive -- you're paying for all the chemicals
Don't expect the government to look out for your best interests when it comes to chemicals.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 22, 2000
Exotic pet importer confirms Japan is haven for illegal animal imports
The situation is worse than I imagined. In my last column (May 8), I wrote about smugglers carrying live primates into Japan in their luggage. Days after that column appeared, I was put in touch with an exotic pet importer who confirmed that government oversight of trade in animals is abysmal.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 8, 2000
Orangutans smuggled in underwear
You're flying back from a week in Indonesia and the guy next to you seems unusually twitchy. Considering all he's had to drink, he ought to be adequately sedated, but he's just ordered another Scotch.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 24, 2000
Whales, ivory, orangutans and Japanese wildlife policies
The argument goes something like this: Developing countries are just trying to feed their teeming poor and hungry. All they want is a chance to sell what is rightfully theirs to sell. Carefully managed, of course, to ensure "sustainable use."
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 17, 2000
Chance meeting provides valuable insights on Japan and environment
In early April I had a chance to meet with Rea Litty, an environmentalist from the Netherlands, and Fushi Zen, president of the Association for the Conservation of Humans Against the Natural Environment, and former director of Humans First!
When will Japan intervene to support the yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has reiterated the government's readiness to take an appropriate action as the yen continues to slide against the U.S. dollar.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Raising kids in Japan as a single parent? It takes a village.
Making things work as a foreign, single mother in Japan isn't easy, but these tips and tricks can help you through the hardest parts.
Yen rebounds strongly after first slide past ¥160 since 1990
The yen dropped to ¥160.245 per dollar on Monday before heading into the other direction to ¥155.01 amid speculation of an intervention by Japanese currency authorities.
JAL cancels international flight after captain gets drunk at Dallas hotel
A Japan Airlines' flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled last week after its captain got drunk at a local hotel.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo
Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo

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