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August 11, 2026
 

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ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY

Customers look at goods at a Japanese second-hand goods warehouse store in Nonthaburi, Thailand, in May.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2026
Japan to draw up guidelines on reuse business
As disputes between customers and firms arise, the ministry plans to encourage consumer protection laws through guidelines that clarify reliable business standards.
Mobile power banks were the products most frequently responsible for fire or smoke incidents involving lithium-ion batteries.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2026
Lithium battery fires hit record high in Japan in fiscal 2025
Mobile power banks were the products most frequently responsible for fire or smoke incidents involving lithium-ion batteries, followed by heated tobacco products.
Hunters and a police officer approach a man wearing a bear costume during a drill for a bear intrusion in Yaita, Tochigi Prefecture, last month.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Jul 2, 2026
Japan deploys bear cameras in mountains as attacks surge
Bears have killed at least five people since April 1, all in the northern region of Tohoku.
Hikers walk past a bear warning sign in the Okutama area in western Tokyo on Sunday as local authorities urge visitors to take precautions following increased reports of bear sightings in the region.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 16, 2026
Why more bears are entering urban areas
Five deaths have already been reported this year as of the beginning of June, with bears showing a growing willingness to roam closer to where people live.
A crested ibis takes flight after being released in Hakui, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2026
Crested ibises released into wild in quake-hit Ishikawa
The prefectural government hopes the effort will be a symbol of reconstruction from the powerful January 2024 earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula.
The Environment Ministry aims to gain a better understanding of bear behavior in wide areas, as bears often roam across prefectural borders.
JAPAN
May 20, 2026
Japan to survey bear habitats in Niigata and Tohoku region
The government surveys aim to gain a better understanding of bear behavior in wide areas, as bears often roam across prefectural borders.
The Metropolitan Police Department discovered the lower half of a human body on Tuesday, approximately 100 meters off a hiking trail in Nippara, in the town of Okutama, located on the outskirts of western Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 20, 2026
Possible fatal bear attack reported in mountains of western Tokyo
If confirmed, the incident in the mountains of Okutama would mark Tokyo¡¯s first recorded fatal bear attack since at least 2006.
Asian black bear sightings reached an all-time high of 50,776 in fiscal 2025, the environment ministry announced Monday.
JAPAN / Society
May 12, 2026
Black bear sightings in Japan more than doubled in 2025
The total number of deaths caused by bear attacks in fiscal 2025 was 13, the highest in recorded history.
Japanese authorities confirmed Friday the first fatal bear attack of 2026, in which a 55-year-old woman died on April 21 in Iwate Prefecture, according to media reports.
JAPAN
May 8, 2026
Japan confirms year¡¯s first fatal bear attack
The victim, reportedly a 55-year-old woman, died on April 21 in Iwate Prefecture, an environment ministry official said.
Environment Minister Hirotaka Ishihara speaks during a meeting with members of the Minamata disease victims organization held Thursday in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture.
JAPAN
May 1, 2026
Decades later, the dispute over Minamata disease remains unresolved
Victims urge the government and the chemical firm whose wastewater discharges caused the neurological disorder to properly take responsibility.
French Environment Minister Monique Barbut speaks during a news conference in Paris on April 24.
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 25, 2026
G7 says nature talks a success as climate sidelined for U.S.
The Group of Seven skirted any direct mention of global warming to appease the U.S., its largest and most powerful member.
Â鶹´«Ã½ greenhouse gas emissions fell 1.9% to a record low of about 1.05 billion tons of carbon dioxide in fiscal 2024, the Environment Ministry said.
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 14, 2026
Greenhouse gas emissions in Japan fell to record low in fiscal 2024
In fiscal 2024, emissions in Japan were down 28.7% from fiscal 2013 and the amount of carbon dioxide released slipped below 1 billion tons for the first time since then.
Ise-Shima National Park in Mie Prefecture
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2026
Japan moves to attract more foreign visitors to national parks
The Environment Ministry will work on improving accessibility and multilingual support to hit its target.
Water utilities will be required to conduct PFAS tests every three months in principle under new tap water quality standards that will take effect next month.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2026
Japan to mandate inspections for PFAS in water from April
The Environment Ministry aims to assess PFAS concentrations in water supplies nationwide.
The red-crowned crane has been removed from the Environment Ministry¡¯s Red List of threatened species.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 17, 2026
Japanese crane no longer considered ¡®threatened¡¯ as population recovers
The species saw its population drop to as low as 33 in 1952 due to overhunting, but after conservation efforts about 1,200 are believed to now be living in the wild.
Japan is hosting a three-day closed-door meeting among working-level officials from around 20 countries to push for progress toward a global treaty on plastic pollution.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2026
¡®Unofficial¡¯ talks on plastic pollution treaty to begin in Japan
Supposedly final talks in South Korea in 2024 toward an agreement failed, and a renewed effort in Geneva last August likewise collapsed in overtime.
A monitor shows Japanese Environment Minister Hirotaka Ishihara delivering a speech at a ministerial meeting of the 30th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Belem, Brazil, in November.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2026
Japan to stay the course on fighting climate change despite U.S. exit
Experts say the U.S.¡¯s recent departure from international climate organizations will have a limited impact on Â鶹´«Ã½ own initiatives.
A bear warning sign is displayed in Shirakawa-go, Gifu Prefecture, in November.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2026
Japan sees record 47,000 Asian black bear sightings over eight months
The April-November figure nearly doubled from the previous annual record high of 24,348 marked in fiscal 2023.
Swollen or deformed batteries are particularly prone to ignition.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2025
Japan aims to eliminate serious lithium battery fires by 2030
In a policy package drawn up by central government agencies including the Environment Ministry, local governments and companies are urged to properly dispose of used batteries.
Under the current law, storage is regulated only when scrap brought into yards is classified as ¡°waste.¡±
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2025
Japan to introduce permit system for scrapyard businesses
The move is a response to cases in which environmental problems like fire and soil contamination were caused by improper storage of such scrap as used metals and plastics.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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