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Anuradha Raghu
A mixture of urea and ammonium sulfate fertilizer on a corn field in Glendora, Mississippi.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2026
Human urine becomes option for farmers in fertilizer supply crunch
From Yorkshire chicken muck to human urine-based products, a fertilizer crunch tied to the Iran war is accelerating demand for alternatives to conventional nitrogen inputs.
A mini laboratory at a blending and fuel pump station for the B50 road test in Lembang, Bandung, Indonesia
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 28, 2026
War hastens an Indonesian biofuels push that has global stakes
With energy bills rising due to the Iran war, the Southeast Asian nation is fast-tracking the rollout of a diesel blend comprised 50% of biofuels from its vast palm plantations.
Karex, the world’s biggest maker of condoms, produces for brands like Durex as well as its own line of specialty condoms.
BUSINESS
Apr 22, 2026
Iran war has boosted costs of energy, food and now condoms
The surge in costs underscores how the war is disrupting virtually every aspect of life for consumers.
The downtown Johor Bahru skyline from Singapore
BUSINESS
May 13, 2024
Malaysia’s Johor eyes Shenzhen-style hub with Singapore, report says
If approved, the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone would be nearly twice the size of China’s Shenzhen at 3,505 square kilometers.
A harvest at a palm oil plantation in Khammam, India, in 2022
BUSINESS
Oct 1, 2023
Aging trees show a crisis looms for the world’s everything oil
Malaysia and Indonesia provide 85% the world’s most versatile edible oil — but their trees are growing old, and replacing them is expensive.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 25, 2022
Anwar Ibrahim faces many pitfalls after finally becoming Malaysia PM
The new leader will have to steer the economy at a time of surging inflation and living costs, all while navigating deepening religious and racial fault lines.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 26, 2022
Big grocery shock looms as food giants face cooking oil risk
The world’s biggest shipper, Indonesia, will halt some cooking oil exports from April 28 after a domestic shortage led to street protests over high food costs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2022
As pandemic and war send prices soaring, people are changing how they eat
The cost of basics such as bread, meat and cooking oils have jumped across the world, sending shock waves through commodity markets and damaging the global food system.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 11, 2022
Investing titans can no longer ignore Malaysia’s labor abuses
Concerns over labor abuse in Malaysia, long present in the Southeast Asian country, have escalated in the past three months.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2021
Palm oil bulls to roar into 2022 on labor crunch and La Nina deluge
Disruptions of palm oil production could keep prices elevated after a record year in 2021 when benchmark futures rocketed to an all-time closing high of 5,071 ringgit ($1,213) a ton.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / FOCUS
Jul 16, 2019
Not going anywhere: How to handle the world’s growing trash problem
The stench of curdled milk wafted from a shipping container of waste at Malaysia’s Port Klang as Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin told a group of journalists in May she would send the maggot-infested rubbish back where it came from.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2018
Japanese scientists look to help palm oil industry tap green energy demand
Japanese scientists are encouraging Southeast Asia’s palm oil producers to chop down trees to help save forests.

Longform

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