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April 26, 2024
 

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PLASTIC WASTE

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks stand on a log as plastic bottles and trash float on the the El Cerron Grande reservoir in Potonico, El Salvador, in 2022.
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 22, 2024
Negotiations on global plastic treaty to resume in Canada
After promising to finalize a treaty by the end of this year, 175 countries are meeting in Canada from Tuesday to hammer out the details.
McDonald's Japan will start charging ¥5 for plastic bags of all sizes at some stores, starting in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2024
McDonald's Japan announces trial ¥5 plastic bag charge to curb usage
The firm will eye expanding the fee nationwide following a trial at 23 of its stores in Nagasaki Prefecture starting in April.
Workers collect recyclable garbage including plastic bottles on World Environment Day in Tokyo in June 2020.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 6, 2023
New solutions tackle Japan’s waste problem at its core
Issues like the plastics and climate crises seem insurmountable — until we apply "systemic design," as several Japanese initiatives are showing.
Staff at the Tokyo Legacy Half Marathon 2023 collect used paper cups after the event on Oct. 15.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 9, 2023
Japanese paper-makers pioneer domestic recycling of paper cups
Until now paper cups have typically been discarded as flammable waste, but are made from high quality pulp that can be reused.
Plastic waste in Yangon's Shwepyithar township. In a working-class neighborhood of Myanmar's Yangon, plastic waste is piled a meter high, the toxic product of what a recent investigation says is rampant dumping of Western trash.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 20, 2023
'License to hide': Western plastic waste dumped in Myanmar
For years, sites across Shwepyithar township have been filling up with trash that chokes fields, blocks the drainage of rains and causes fire risks.
A municipality worker collects garbage, most of which is plastic and domestic waste, along the shore of Jakarta.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 4, 2023
Trash to treasure: Indonesian firm turns plastic into bricks
The company mixes volcanic ash, mountain stones, plastic waste and cement to make its bricks, which do not contain sand like regular ones.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 17, 2022
Toilet-maker plans to recycle plastic waste into sidewalks
Only 9% of plastic is currently recycled globally, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 13, 2022
Japan's plastic waste problem spurs grocery shopping novelty
One scale manufacturer has developed a device that automatically identifies and weighs products to serve the growing demand for a new way to shop.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 27, 2022
Faster growth may help bacteria remove lake plastic waste, study says
Chemicals leaking from plastic waste make bacteria grow faster in European lakes, which could provide a natural way to remove plastic pollution from freshwater ecosystems.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 30, 2022
One man's trash is another man's treasure: Japanese student turns garbage cleanup into game
In Seisochu, points are awarded based on the type and weight of litter collected within a set time.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2021
Trash and burn: Big brands' new plastic waste plan faces skepticism
Experts say that burning plastic in cement kilns, a practice firms are promoting, emits harmful emissions and amounts to swapping one dirty fuel for another.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 21, 2021
Private equity falling out of love with plastic packaging
Many buyout firms are steering clear while some holding assets are struggling to offload them at palatable prices, as environmental factors become dealmakers and breakers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 5, 2021
Bandai Namco launches project to recycle plastic waste from Gundam models
The company plans to reuse the plastic waste for making plastic products, including Gundam models, as well as for thermal power generation.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 6, 2020
South Korean 'sparrows' try to cap surge of throwaway plastic
At a workshop in Seoul, two environmental activists melt down old plastic bottle caps that thousands of volunteers known as "sparrows" have collected in a bid to fight a tide of plastic the novel coronavirus has helped unleash.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2020
Rising shoplifting after Japan's plastic bag tax prompts rethink of personal bag rules
A nonprofit group says shoplifting is on the rise following the start of mandatory charges for plastic bags in July.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 24, 2020
Plastic pollution flowing into oceans to triple by 2040, study says
The new research offers solutions that could cut the projected volume of plastic entering the ocean by more than 80 percent.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 18, 2020
Pandemic negates Japan’s bid to reduce plastic waste
Plastic is one of the cheapest, most effective materials for preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 1, 2020
Japan's new plastic bag charge: What it means for consumers and the environment
The new rule is aimed at reducing the amount of plastic that ends up in the country's rivers, forests, streams and, ultimately, surrounding oceans.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Food Sustainability in Japan
Apr 18, 2020
It’s 2020: Time for Japan to end its reliance on PET bottles
Japan's intricate approach to packaging — matryoshka-like, within layers of plastic and paper — used to seem charming. In 2020, however, it now just feels annoying and wasteful.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 23, 2020
Japanese company wants diners to eat everything, including the plate
In the future, when someone implores a dining companion to 'finish off the meal,' it just might mean that they are expected to eat the plate and cutlery, too.
'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.
Over 40% of Japan's municipalities at risk of vanishing, study finds
Of 1,729 local municipalities nationwide, 744 have been identified as being at risk of disappearing.
Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Yen inches closer to intervention point as BOJ meeting starts
The rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar is displayed in the trading room at foreign exchange brokerage Gaitame.com in Tokyo on Thursday.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
For amateur sumo, a fresh start offers hope against time-wasting and gamesmanship
Wrestlers prepare for the start of a bout at the 2023 Sumo World Championships in Tokyo. Starting this month, placing one hand on the clay first is no longer allowed.
LDP veteran Nikai's youngest son expected to succeed him in Wakayama
Toshihiro Nikai, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, announced in March that he would not run in the next Lower House election to take responsibility for the political funds scandal that rocked his party and his own faction.
New workers name Shohei Ohtani as 'dream boss' for two years running
Shohei Ohtani has been overwhelmingly voted as the “dream boss” for people who started working in April, according to a survey.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.

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

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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