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July 03, 2026
 

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POLLUTION

Commercial fishermen form the word "SOS" to spread the message about ocean acidification caused by fossil fuel emissions, in Homer, Alaska, in 2009. Ocean acidification is one of nine planetary boundaries that determine life on Earth.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Sep 14, 2023
Humanity pushing Earth far beyond ‘safe operating space’: study
Six of nine planetary boundaries — within which the world is livable for most species, including our own — are already deep in the red zone.
Asep Muizudin Muhamad Darmini was recently discharged from a hospital in Jakarta after being treated for a respiratory illness caused by the city's air pollution.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Sep 13, 2023
Breathless Indonesians irate over pollution crisis in Jakarta
Air pollution is hardly a new phenomenon in the city, but monitors and activists say the effects have been even worse than usual this year.
Young villagers gather on the black sand beach in the village of Waisisi in Tanna, Vanuatu.
ENVIRONMENT / Oceans
Sep 11, 2023
Sinking islands turn to court as they fight for climate survival
The latest legal push comes amid frustration among island states and developing nations that the world is addressing global warming too slowly.
An activist in Seoul protests Japan’s plan to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 7, 2023
Anger at Fukushima’s wastewater; hope in its renewables
Good news and bad news out of Fukushima.
Packs of raw fish at a Japanese food store in Beijing prior to China's ban on Japan's seafood products
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2023
China takes its anti-science disinformation campaign to a new level
Japan can counter China’s disinformation on the safety of the Fukushima water release, and gain people’s trust, by sharing the data.
Journalists tour the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and the tanks that contain contaminated water on Aug. 27
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 6, 2023
We need to put low-dose radiation into perspective
Public fear of the effects of low-dose radiation isn’t backed by science. The Fukushima water release shows, once again, that better education is needed.
Environmental activist Yakov Demidov inspects a landfill on the outskirts of Penza, Russia.
WORLD / Society
Sep 1, 2023
Russian teen eco-activists fight for future as risks mount
Environmental groups in Russia not linked to the government have long faced pressure from authorities.
At Beijing’s Jingshen Seafood Market, sales of Japanese maritime products are now banned — just as they are elsewhere in the country.
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2023
China is about to get a lesson in the limits of economic coercion
Most governments in Asia are relying on science to guide their responses to the Fukushima water release.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 1, 2023
Fisheries minister under fire for ‘contaminated water’ gaffe
“Contaminated water” is the expression used by China, and Japan has been extremely critical of Beijing’s labeling.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 1, 2023
China banned seafood from Japan. Some tourists are eating it in Tokyo.
Travelers from China seem largely unfazed despite the ban, with many local seafood restaurants seeing little impact so far.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2023
Kishida eats ‘safe and delicious’ Fukushima fish
“This is very good,” Kishida said as he chewed on a slice of flounder sashimi, calling on viewers to enjoy Japanese seafood.
A sign reading "suspend the sale of all fish products imported from Japan" in an area of Japanese restaurants in Beijing
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2023
China’s actions on Japan and religion are cut from the same cloth
Beijing’s stoking of anti-Japanese sentiment based on unscientific accusations mirrors its suppression of religious freedom in Xinjiang.
People sit on a rail track as smoke rises from steel mills near a slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 30, 2023
Air pollution now a risk to life expectancy in South Asia: study
Rapid industrialization and population growth have contributed to declining air quality in South Asia.
People protest after Japan moved to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the sea, in Hong Kong on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 28, 2023
Japan urges China to rein in harassing calls over Fukushima water
The calls, which sometimes numbered in the hundreds for certain targets, were made to businesses, schools and government offices.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 27, 2023
More tests show radiation levels of Fukushima seawater remain below limits
Tokyo hopes what it says is a transparent release of data will serve as a strong rebuttal to claims by Beijing that the discharge is dangerous.
Customers shop at a seafood market in Beijing on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2023
Russia hopes to raise seafood exports to China after Japan ban
Russia is already one of the biggest marine product suppliers to China, with 894 Russian companies allowed to export seafood.
People buy salt in Daoxian, China, in this screenshot obtained from a social media video released on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2023
China says salt supply ample as Fukushima prompts panic buying
The nation can produce 50 million tons of salt that is used in food each year, much higher than annual consumption of around 12 million tons.
Koji Suzuki rides on his surfboard in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2023
Fukushima surfer hangs loose about treated water release
Koji Suzuki, 68, fled the tsunami in his car but was back riding the waves off Minamisoma four months after the disaster.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2023
Tritium level near Fukushima plant well below Tepco standards
The plant operator said the level in the Pacific Ocean was below about 10 becquerels per liter in all 10 locations it surveyed.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2023
Japan begins controversial release of treated Fukushima water
The discharge is a major step in the decommissioning process for the reactors hit by meltdowns following the March 2011 tsunami.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
Japan spent ¥11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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