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July 07, 2025
 

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ENVIRONMENT

Energy

Climate change
Energy
Sustainability
Wildlife
Earth science
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
Some scholars and activists are raising concerns that Indigenous voices are not being heard amid the debate over whether to host nuclear waste storage facilities.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
China leading BRICS clean-energy boom with shift into solar, report shows
Most countries in BRICS remain major fossil fuel producers, but the group together produced 51% of the world’s solar energy in 2024 — up from 15% a decade earlier.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
China is eroding Japan's LNG dominance. How does that affect Japanese buyers?
Japanese companies have long held the leading position in the buying and trading of one of the world's key energy sources, but that era of hegemony has come to an end.
A solar panel on display at a home improvement center in Bangkok
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
May 4, 2025
U.S. solar tariffs could drive Asia transition boom
By Sara Hussein
China makes eight out of every 10 solar panels globally, and controls 80% of every stage of the manufacturing process.
Brine pools at the Atacama salt flat in Antofagasta region, Chile, in 2023. Local Chilean Indigenous communities are pushing for greater control over lithium extraction in the country just as the government plans to raise production.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 8, 2025
As Chile revs up lithium plans, Indigenous people demand more control
By Daina Beth Solomon
Mining companies describe a potential system as "unprecedented" in Chile, adding that it would comply with international treaties on Indigenous rights.
A tank holds untreated waste from plutonium production at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, a site that was integral to the nation’s nuclear arsenal after World War II, north of Richland, Washington, in March 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Mar 11, 2025
Most contaminated U.S. nuclear site is set to be the largest solar farm
By Keith Schneider
Plans to transform Hanford had just begun inching forward when U.S. President Donald Trump started his second term.
India, the world’s third-biggest emitter, wants to more than double clean-power capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030. That won't be easy.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Mar 10, 2025
Eyeing short-term savings, India’s utilities put green energy boom at risk
By Rajesh Kumar Singh
A federal auction model that helped the country add more than 130 gigawatts of renewables projects over the past decade is under threat of circumvention.
Hidetaka Ishii, an official at the Chiba Municipal Government, says close coordination with private-sector operators is key for regional decarbonization efforts.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Mar 2, 2025
Japan’s climate heroes show potential and limits of local initiatives
By Tomoko Otake
Chiba and others show the potential for local areas to accelerate the energy transition, as well as the challenges of building locally driven, carbon-free energy models.
Soaring costs in recent years have upended the investment plans of offshore wind developers globally.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Feb 3, 2025
Mitsubishi reviews Japanese offshore wind after economic changes
By Shoko Oda
Soaring costs in recent years have upended the investment plans of offshore wind developers globally.
A pipe for transporting carbon dioxide to removal equipment at a carbon capture and storage (CCS) test site in Tomakomai, Hokkaido.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jan 26, 2025
How Japan is looking deep underground to solve its carbon problem
By Annelise Giseburt
Japan is investing billions of yen to get carbon capture and storage off the ground, but the technology is dogged by high costs and uncertainty.

Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
Tokyo and Kyoto feature among top ‘noctourism’ destinations
Tokyo ranked second after New York and ahead of Dubai and Singapore in a ranking of the top global cities for nighttime tourism.
Elon Musk says he has created a new U.S. political party
Elon Musk looks on during a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 30.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027
Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

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