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July 09, 2026
 

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More Environment stories

Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jul 14, 2005
Japanese littleneck clam
By Rowan Hooper
* Japanese name: Asari * Scientific name: Ruditapes philippinarum * Description: Clams are bivalve mollusks, meaning that they are shellfish, like mussels and oysters. The shells are elongated and pinched together in the center where they join. There are both radial and concentric ribs on the...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jul 7, 2005
Battling for nature in the face of greed and neglect
By C.W. Nicol
I started to buy neglected woodland on a mountainside near where I live in Nagano Prefecture more than 20 years ago. Together with a local forester (and now long-time friend), Nobuyoshi Matsuki, we began tending the woods. One of the delightful results was the blooming of hundreds of wild Calanthe discolor...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 23, 2005
Yellow-browed bunting
By Rowan Hooper
* Japanese name: Kimayuhojiro * Scientific name: Emberiza chrysophrys * Description: Buntings are related to finches and sparrows, but the Yellow-browed bunting -- whose Japanese name means “yellow eyebrow white cheek” -- is distinguished from them by its rather large head, brown-streaked upperparts...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 23, 2005
China’s growth sums just don’t add up for the planet
By Stephen Hesse
China’s 1.3 billion (and counting) citizens are poised to transform the global landscape dramatically, both economically and ecologically.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jun 16, 2005
Worlds of nature are just a click away
By Mark Brazil
Although I’ve only just packed away my skiing gear (the remnant snowfields have crept too close to the peaks to make the physical cost of carrying heavy boots and skis so far uphill worth the downhill benefits), and though mountain cherry blossoms have only recently begun to shed their petals here in...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 9, 2005
Four-lined rat snake
By Rowan Hooper
* Japanese name: Shimahebi * Scientific name: Elaphe quadrivirgata * Description: Unfortunately, despite the name, this snake does not always have four lines running down its length. Often it has black lines running down a light-brown body (as in the photo), or sometimes lighter, dashed lines that...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jun 2, 2005
‘Weed’ of wonder fresh from the sea
By C.W. Nicol
I first consciously ate kelp when I came to Japan in 1962. Slowly stewed, it took the form of those small, almost black bows of a soft and tasty vegetable in the traditional, souplike dish of oden. Later I ate it wrapped around fish, or used it with dried bonito as a base for soup stock. I chose the...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 26, 2005
Butterfly dragonfly
By Rowan Hooper
* Japanese name: Choutonbo * Scientific name: Rhyothemis fuliginosa * Description: With huge wings colored a beautiful deep blue, this dragonfly is unmistakable. Its body is fairly short and stout, at 32-41 mm long, while its hind wings are 30-40 mm across. The name “butterfly dragonfly” refers...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 26, 2005
Mining the Earth’s problems for drama
By Stephen Hesse
‘It starts with the Earth. How can it not?”
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 19, 2005
Birders’ islet of delights
By Mark Brazil
The last month has been one of considerable atmospheric variety here where I live in Hokkaido, with laggardly spring weather lapsing back to winter sunshine and warmth, then being followed by snow and cold winds. It has been playing havoc with blossoming times, bumblebee emergence and spring bird migration....
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 12, 2005
Brown-eared bulbul
By Rowan Hooper
* Japanese name: Hiyodori * Scientific name: Ixos amaurotis * Description: These are medium-size songbirds that grow to about 28 cm long. They are mainly olive brown with a white face and eyebrow, throat and belly; they have a small crest. The bill, feet and eyes are black. Males and females look...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
May 5, 2005
Swallow tales to silence those who speak with forked tongues
By C.W. Nicol
It was 1969, and I was driving our open-topped Mercedes Unimog to Asmara to get some building supplies and other gear not available in Gondar, the nearest town to the Simien Mountain National Park in Ethiopia where I was then a game warden.
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Osaka trumps Tokyo as both ranked among world’s top 10 most livable cities
Osaka’s infrastructure earned higher marks than Tokyo’s in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Global Liveability Index.
Japanese teen arrested for booting users off streaming service
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly creating a malicious program and canceling subscription accounts on the Bandai Channel.
Long-stalled maglev line finally gets green light from Shizuoka Prefecture
Environmental concerns relating to the construction of Central Japan Railway’s high-speed maglev line had contributed to years of delays for the project.
Violence toward ambulance crews in Tokyo higher in 2025 and rising this year
A bloodstained helmet worn by an ambulance crew member who became involved in a case of violent abuse against the crew
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Japanese nail salons are tourists’ new obsession
Tourists in Japan have always been interested in quintessentially Japanese approaches to modern culture, and, increasingly, visits to nail salons have become the new hot thing.
Okinawa’s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.
‘Defense,’ not ‘warfare,’ stressed as pacifist Japan beefs up capabilities
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi attends an annual training session near Mount Fuji at Higashifuji Training Field in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, on June 7.

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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