Tag - wildfires

 
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June 05, 2025
 

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WILDFIRES

A wildfire that occurred in the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, in February significantly damaged a residential area.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2025
Japan looking to draft fire warning guidelines
Such warnings are designed to prevent fire from occurring or spreading, but there are no nationwide standards.
Rescue workers transport people using a raft along a flooded street in Takeo, Saga Prefecture, in August 2021.
JAPAN / Society
May 24, 2025
Japan to create public-private network on disaster relief
The initiative aims to build a network that facilitates cooperation between local governments, companies and nonprofit organizations.
A partially submerged car is seen in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis, in Nagano Prefecture in October 2019. The Weather Attribution Center Japan, which was founded Tuesday, aims to publicize the results of its climate attribution assessment within days of a typhoon, torrential rain or extreme heat.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
May 21, 2025
When extreme weather hits, Japan scientists will have faster answers on climate links
The Weather Attribution Center will aim to publish concrete links between global warming and extreme weather events within days, rather than months.
Firefighters battle forest fires in the Turkmen mountains in the Rabiah area of Syria's western Latakia's governorate on May 11.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 21, 2025
Fires drive tropical forest loss to 'red alert' record high
The world lost 67,000 square kilometers of precious primary tropical forest last year, an area double the size of Belgium or Taiwan.
Satoko Sodeno moves into temporary housing and arranges her belongings in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
May 17, 2025
Iwate wildfire victims begin moving into temporary housing
Seven housing units were built on the grounds of a former elementary school in Ofunato's Akasaki district.
Firefighters want more funding and better incentives for the millions of volunteers who prop up the system.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 3, 2025
'Not sustainable': Europe's firefighters want more funds and staff
Wildfires fueled by hotter, drier weather and household fires are straining fire services across the bloc.
People observe smoke from wildfires in Neve Ilan, Israel, on Wednesday.
WORLD
May 1, 2025
Israel's Netanyahu warns wildfires could reach Jerusalem
The wildfires have injured several people, and the military has deployed troops to help firefighters.
The aftermath of a wildfire in Yeongyang, South Korea, on March 28.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 1, 2025
South Korea's deadly fires made twice as likely by climate change, researchers say
Fires blazed for nearly a week, killing 32 people and destroying around 5,000 buildings before they were brought under control in late March.
Ofunato Mayor Kiyoshi Fuchigami speaks during a news conference on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2025
Ofunato forest fire declared extinguished
Officials said Monday that there was no longer a risk of the fire breaking out again.
Nattanit Yiamthaisong (right), a Ph.D. student, Thongyod Chiangkanta, a technician from the Forest Restoration Research Unit at Chiang Mai University (center) and a forest guide walk through areas damaged by wildfires in Thailand's Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary on March 22.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Apr 5, 2025
'It's gone': conservation science in Thailand's burning forest
Scientists are confronting the toll that human activity and climate change are already having on forests that are supposed to be pristine and protected.
Imabari Mayor Shigeki Tokunaga announces the containment of a wildfire that started more than a week ago during a news conference on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 31, 2025
Wildfire in Ehime Prefecture has been contained, mayor declares
The wildfire razed a total area of 442 hectares in the city of Imabari and the neighboring city of Saijo.
An 81-year-old apple farmer who lost her crop walks past the remains of her neighbors' homes after a wildfire swept through the area, in Andong, South Korea, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 30, 2025
South Korea's 'heartbreaking' wildfires expose superaged society
The inferno has also laid bare South Korea's demographic crisis and regional disparities.
Masao Omori, mayor of the city of Okayama, the capital of the western prefecture of the same name, announces that a wildfire there had been contained Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2025
Okayama wildfire contained as Ehime eyes similar declaration
A forest fire in Okayama Prefecture has been contained, officials said, while another wildfire in Ehime Prefecture could also be brought under control early next week.
A firefighting helicopter carries water during an operation as a wildfire burns in Yeongyang, South Korea, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 28, 2025
South Korea hopes to use break in weather to contain deadly wildfires
At least 28 people have died and more than 45,000 hectares of largely forest land in the country's southeast have been charred or are burning.
A wildfire burns on a hillside in Andong, South Korea, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 27, 2025
South Korea wildfires 'largest on record,' disaster chief says
More than a dozen fires broke out over the weekend, scorching wide swathes of the southeast, as the death toll rose to 26.
A wildfire in the city of Okayama on Wednesday evening
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2025
Over 900 hectares destroyed in Ehime and Okayama wildfires
In the Ehime city of Imabari, 417 hectares had been burned as of Wednesday, while the fire in the city of Okayama had swept through some 559 hectares.
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 26, 2025
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
A study by European researchers has concluded that the role of human-driven climate change in contributing to the wildfires was undeniable.
A helicopter drops water as they prepare for the possibility of a wildfire advancing towards Gounsa Temple in Uiseong, South Korea, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 26, 2025
Death toll in South Korea wildfires rises to 16
The casualties included four people who were trying to escape the fire but their vehicle was overturned.
A resident films a wildfire devastating a mountain in Uiseong, South Korea, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 25, 2025
South Korea struggles to contain deadly wildfires
More than a dozen different blazes broke out over the weekend, with the safety minister reporting thousands of hectares burned and four people killed.
Smoke from a wildfire in the city of Okayama on Monday. The fire had subsided by Tuesday while a separate wildfire in Ehime Prefecture continues to spread.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2025
Ehime wildfire blazes on while Okayama's begins to burn out
The wildfire in Ehime Prefecture had spread to cover 171 hectares by Tuesday, although no building damage has been reported.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
Toyota Industries receives $33 billion buyout offer from group companies
Toyota group companies could establish a new holding company to privatize Toyota Industries.
Japan’s fertility rate hits record low despite government push
The total number of births dropped to about 686,000, marking the first time the figure has fallen below 700,000, according to a health ministry release on Wednesday.
South Korea’s Lee pledges to heal deep wounds as ‘president for everyone’
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung waves with his his wife, Kim Hye-gyeong, following his inauguration ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
Hakuho’s departure highlights worrying sumo trend
Former <i>yokozuna</i> Hakuho performs a ring-entering ceremony at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020.
Japanese baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima dies at 89
Shigeo Nagashima (left), then the manager of the Tokyo Giants, waves to fans with players and coaches during a victory parade in central Tokyo in 2000. Nagashima died at the age of 89 on Tuesday.
‘A garden is a grand teacher’: The Kamakura Gardener nurtures via YouTube
American Robert Jefferson runs a YouTube channel called The Kamakura Gardener that invites viewers to enjoy the pleasures of gardening, cooking and slow living.
Waves of umami: Awaji Island's culinary trove
Silversea Cruises' culinary program takes guests on a rich gourmet experience at wellness retreat Zenbo Seinei, where the local produce is presented in an eight-course meal.
Hegseth to prioritize China and more allied spending in Asia — but questions remain
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives for a trilateral meeting between Japan, the U.S. and Australia at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.

Podcast

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

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
By Alex K.T. Martin

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