Chinese smog bomb floats toward Japan
Smog in China has reached alarming levels as its rapid industrialization spews ever-more toxic particles into the air. Over the past month or so, the problem has become particularly acute, raising...
View ArticleTake care with ticks to avoid potentially fatal illness
The health ministry confirmed Tuesday that the tick-borne disease thrombocytopenia syndrome, or SFTS, was responsible for the death of an adult male in Hiroshima last summer, bringing the number of...
View ArticleHow signs of a ‘lost continent’ came into JAMSTEC’s underwater view
The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology and the Brazilian government announced Tuesday the discovery of a large mass of granite on the seafloor near Rio de Janero — a landmark finding...
View ArticleMonju: Generating only misfortune
The troubled Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor made headlines again when the Nuclear Regulation Authority said it apparently plans to ensure the facility remains idled after announcing that the...
View ArticleTepco trying to keep radioactive water from reaching sea, but can it?
Although Tepco assures that it is taking and planning steps to prevent more tainted groundwater from reaching the sea, it's unclear how effective those efforts are. The post Tepco trying to keep...
View ArticleFormer leader of Japan’s ruling party against raising defense profile
Ahead of the anniversary Thursday of Japan's surrender in World War II, former Liberal Democratic Party President and noted dove Yohei Kono says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could be igniting a...
View Article‘Barefoot Gen’ pulled as anti-war images strike too close to home?
The decision by the board of education of Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, to limit students’ access to the manga series “Hadashi no Gen” (“Barefoot Gen”) at school libraries continues to cause a stir....
View ArticleData show twisters form over Kanto in September
Damage to people and property by tornadoes made headlines over the past week, with the latest in Tochigi Prefecture injuring three people while destroying houses and other buildings. Here are some...
View ArticleADIZs common but China’s is worrisome
China’s announcement Saturday of its establishment of an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea that includes the Japan-controlled Senkaku islets has worsened already tense bilateral...
View ArticleFlu menace again reaching peak
While this year’s influenza season is predicted to peak around early February, anybody of any age group, sex or nationality is at risk of infection all the way through March. While 210,000 children...
View ArticleA closer look at the Supreme Court’s welfare benefits ruling
Opinions are divided over how the Supreme Court ruling last week declaring permanent foreign residents of Japan ineligible for welfare payments will affect the foreign communities in Japan. In Japan,...
View ArticleHow much do you know about dengue fever?
The health ministry has confirmed the first domestic dengue fever case in Japan in nearly 70 years. A Saitama Prefecture teen girl was found Wednesday to have contracted the virus through a mosquito in...
View Article‘Right to be forgotten’ on the Internet gains traction in Japan
The Internet has made fact-checking easy and people routinely use it for this end, for example, to Google client names and personal backgrounds before their first business meeting, or to take a quick...
View ArticleIs China-led bank a lost opportunity?
China’s proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is causing a stir as the majority of Group of 20 leading economies sign on as founding members, while the U.S. and Japan remain on the sidelines....
View ArticleDetecting breast cancer is not an exact science
Former professional wrestler-turned TV personality Akira Hokuto, 48, made headlines this week when she announced on Wednesday she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery to remove her...
View ArticleThe Fukushima nuclear cleanup, four years on
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is scheduled to complete a seaside wall at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station at the end of the month. Since January, slightly tainted water has overflowed from drainage...
View ArticleHow a U.N. committee riled Japan with its criticism of women’s rights
Recent recommendations issued to Japan by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women sparked a sharp response from Tokyo. The U.N. body touched on several...
View ArticleJapan’s electricity shake-up gives power to the people
Japan’s electricity market receives a fundamental shake-up on Friday, with the introduction of greater competition for households and small businesses. Until now, regional utilities have monopolized...
View ArticleQuestions and answers: The Kumamoto earthquakes
The series of huge earthquakes and aftershocks that have been rattling wide parts of Kumamoto and Oita prefectures since Thursday have raised fears that other regions in the nation might be struck by...
View ArticleCalls to revise SOFA in wake of Okinawa murder unlikely to bear fruit
As a result of the recent murder of a 20-year-old woman in Okinawa, allegedly at the hands of a U.S. base worker and former marine, calls are once again growing for a revision to the U.S.-Japan Status...
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