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September 02, 2025
 

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As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 15, 2025
New street patrol helps Nara's deer clean up their act
Garbage dropped by tourists can pose a serious risk to Nara's famous deer, but a new group is cleaning up the town.
52.0% of people questioned in a survey said they want to use containers to take leftovers home if they are provided free of charge, and 28.8% showed willingness to use takeout containers whether they are free or not.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2025
Survey finds 80% of people want to take leftover restaurant food home
14.5% of those surveyed answered that they have never left food in restaurants.
Solar panels, which typically last 20 to 30 years, will begin to reach the end of their service life in the next decade.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2025
Disposal of used solar panels emerging as challenge in Japan
The annual amount of solar panels discarded as waste is seen peaking at some 500,000 tons in the early 2040s, putting a major strain on industrial waste treatment facilities.
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Dec 21, 2024
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
Flowing more than 4,300 kilometers from the Tibetan Plateau to Vietnam, the Mekong River is the lifeblood of the region. It also faces a spiraling problem with plastic.
Food loss happens at food-related businesses including-food makers, retailers and restaurants, as well as at households.
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2024
Japan drafts more ambitious 60% goal for cutting business food loss by 2030
The government hopes to require food businesses to change practices such as rejecting foods and beverages that are close to their best-before date.
In scrap yards lacking proper environmental safeguards, towering piles of scrap are at risk of collapse.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Dec 10, 2024
Japan to tighten regulations for electronic devices scrap yards
Local communities have expressed concerns over frequent fires and noise pollution.
Starbucks Coffee Japan will replace paper straws with plant-based biomass plastic straws from next month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 6, 2024
Starbucks in Japan to ditch paper straws for plant-based biomass plastic in 2025
The coffee company says the new straws are fully biodegradable in seawater and soil, and will not soften like paper ones.
Plastic production is on track to triple by 2050, and microplastics have been found in air, fresh produce and even human breast milk.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Dec 1, 2024
Battle over curbing plastic output jeopardizes U.N. treaty hopes
The hoped-for treaty could be the most significant environmental protection deal since the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Environmental activists demonstrate in front of the convention center in Busan, South Korea, where delegates from around the world are seeking to reach a binding treaty against plastic waste.
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 29, 2024
Showdown looms on plastic treaty days before deadline
With just two days of talks left, countries seeking an ambitious treaty urged delegations that "have not moved a centimeter" to make compromises or "get out of the way."
Plastic waste that manicurist Naomi Arimoto collected from the sand at a beach, is pictured at her nail salon in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Oct. 21.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2024
Japanese manicurist takes on plastic pollution, one nail at a time
Naomi Arimoto carefully sifts beach sand for tiny bits of plastic that she can mold into decorative tips to put on the false nails at her salon.
An employee of Trex stands with bales of used plastic, which the company recycles into decking material.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Nov 25, 2024
Can the world unite to end the plastic pollution crisis?
The rising toll of plastic in the environment is impossible to ignore.
Sacks of untreated and shredded plastic waste, left unattended, collect at an inoperative recycling site in Asan, South Korea, on Nov. 19.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Nov 25, 2024
South Korea's mountain of plastic waste shows limits of recycling
Seoul says that it recycles 73% of its plastic waste, but environmentalists say the real number is about 27%.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako release young marbled flounder and red sea bream into the sea from the port of Beppu, Oita Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2024
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attend annual marine convention
The emperor and empress later moved to the city of Beppu and released young marbled flounder and red sea bream into the sea from the port of Beppu.
FamilyMart has introduced discount stickers with teary-eyed characters and the plea "Please help me" on near-expiration rice balls, sandwiches and bento boxes.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2024
FamilyMart trials sobbing discount stickers to help prevent food waste
The convenience store chain hopes the stickers will tug on customers’ heartstrings and encourage them to purchase items nearing their expiration dates.
Draft guidelines on take-home bags drawn up by the health ministry aim to change the behavior of both customers and restaurants, and reduce food waste.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2024
Health ministry drafts to-go bag guidelines to cut down on food waste
Draft guidelines on take-home bags drawn up by the health ministry aim to change the behavior of both customers and restaurants, and reduce food waste.
Each year, millions of tons of trash and other pollutants enter the world's oceans, creating scenes like this one in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2024
Multinationals must stop flow of ocean waste in Global South
The world's oceans are being suffocated by millions of tons of waste, especially in the Global South. The corporations responsible need to clean up their mess.
Debbie Wu tests her pair of sunglasses made from plastic waste at Trash Kitchen in Taipei.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Sep 6, 2024
Taiwan workshop turns trash into sunglasses
Taipei's Trash Kitchen allows customers to create fashion out of plastic waste.
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jul 14, 2024
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
As summers get hotter across the world we’re met with a paradox: To stay cool, it seems we’re compelled to consume more.
An electronic shelf tag at a supermarket in Tokyo's Sumida Ward shows a product is sold at different prices according to the expiration date and inventory status.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 21, 2024
Japan's food loss hits a record low in fiscal 2022
With the goal met for businesses to reduce food waste, the government will consider setting a new reduction target.
Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe (second from right) and Aikasa founder Shoji Marukawa (second from left) hold rental umbrellas during a media briefing on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 19, 2024
Shibuya launches initiative to set up 150 new umbrella-sharing stands
The initiative envisions a reduction of 76.1 tons in carbon dioxide emissions and 29.1 tons in waste per year.
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
Woman dies after possible knife attack in Setagaya
Police investigate the scene where a woman was found bleeding on a street in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Monday.
Japan to launch broad review of immigration policies amid rise in foreign nationals
Foreign tourists at Narita Airport in June. A report released Friday stresses that Japan is at a turning point and that current ad-hoc measures on immigration are no longer sufficient.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
How Tokyo's Ueno Zoo helps their animals cope with extreme heat
A polar bear at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo on Thursday. The Arctic animals are among the most vulnerable species to Japan's scorching summer heat and zookeepers have to take a number of precautions in order to keep them safe.
Why Stalin didn’t invade Hokkaido still largely unknown, 80 years after WWII
During a survey to collect the remains of victims from the Taito Maru, one of the vessels involved in the Three Ships Incident, a metal helmet was found near the stern of the vessel on Aug. 5, 1984, at Rumoi Port. No human remains were discovered.
More sweltering days forecast for September after hottest summer on record
By the end of August, 8,341 people had been transported by ambulance for heatstroke in Tokyo alone.
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
‘Cool’ Patagonia wants to take used items into the mainstream
"It's not just about sales. It's about system change," said Marty Pomphrey, general manager of Patagonia Japan, on Aug. 6.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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