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August 13, 2026
 

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SEWAGE

Japan's parliament has enacted a bill to promote measures for ensuring the proper maintenance and management of sewerage facilities.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2026
Japan enacts bill to bolster maintenance of sewerage facilities
The bill was in response to last year¡¯s sinkhole incident in Saitama Prefecture.
Japan is promoting fertilizer production from sewage sludge to reduce reliance on imports.
JAPAN
May 10, 2026
Local governments recover phosphorus from sewage sludge
Phosphorus is almost entirely imported. Supply disruptions triggered by Russia¡¯s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted the central government to promote fertilizer production.
About 748 kilometers of sewer pipes in Japan, roughly 16% of those inspected, have been found to require countermeasures due to risks such as cave-ins, prompting the infrastructure ministry to call for immediate repairs.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2026
Hundreds of kilometers of Â鶹´«Ã½ sewers classified as needing action
The infrastructure ministry will ask 383 municipalities and organizations managing the sewer pipes to take immediate measures.
A makeshift bridge built over a sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Wednesday as the road that collapsed in January 2025 was partially reopened to traffic
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2026
Saitama road affected by sinkhole partially restored
The January incident covered a six-way intersection and left a truck driver dead.
A buried pipe protrudes 13 meters above ground on Wednesday in the city of Osaka.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 12, 2026
Construction pipe suddenly rises 13 meters above ground in Osaka
The head of the city¡¯s sewer department apologized for disruptions the pipe¡¯s inexplicable action caused, saying road closures had caused major traffic congestion.
An anonymous donor has gifted Osaka with gold bars worth ?566 million ($3.6 million) to help repair the city¡¯s aging water pipes.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 27, 2026
A Japanese city received 21 gold bars with instructions: Fix your water pipes
Osaka says it will honor the anonymous donor¡¯s wishes by using the money from the gold bars ¡ª worth ?566 million ¡ª on the city¡¯s pipes, which are some of the oldest in Japan.
Saitama Gov. Motohiro Ono speaks to reporters on Thursday after receiving the final report from the investigative committee in the city of Saitama.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2026
Pipe corrosion confirmed as cause of 2025 Saitama sinkhole
A committee concluded that the emergence of the sinkhole was not necessarily predictable.
Temporary pipes divert sewage into the C&O Canal in order to repair the Potomac Interceptor, a six-foot-wide wastewater pipe that collapsed in January, dumping hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage into the Potomac River, in Cabin John, Maryland, on Wednesday.
WORLD
Feb 19, 2026
Washington mayor asks Trump for disaster declaration over Potomac spill
After part of a sewer line failed in Maryland¡¯s Montgomery County on Jan. 19, some 250 million gallons of untreated sewage flowed into the Potomac over the next several days.
An underground sewer facility in Tokyo in June 2017
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2025
300 kilometers of Â鶹´«Ã½ sewers need rapid action
The nationwide survey of sewer pipes that have been in place for 30 years or more was conducted by visual inspections and using drones.
A construction crew works at the site of a massive sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, in February.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2025
Saitama sinkhole attributed to hydrogen sulfide corrosion
Hydrogen sulfide was detected in corroded concrete fragments recovered from the accident site.
Four male workers were confirmed dead after falling into a manhole in Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture, on Saturday morning, fire authorities said.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2025
Four dead after falling into manhole in Saitama
The four, all in their 50s, fell into the manhole around 9:25 a.m. during a sewage pipe inspection.
A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
May 19, 2025
That sinking feeling: Â鶹´«Ã½ aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb
A tragic accident in Saitama shows how aging pipes, soft soil and climate threats are straining the country¡¯s infrastructure.
A manhole card and a manhole cover featuring characters from "Sailor Moon," on Feb. 10. The cards were handed out by Tokyo's Minato Ward, where the series is set.
JAPAN
May 4, 2025
Manhole cover designs recognized as tourism assets in Japan
The initiative to create specially designed manhole covers began as a public relations campaign to improve the image of the sewage industry.
Workers stand around a vehicle carrying the body of a person recovered from a sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN
May 2, 2025
Truck driver¡¯s body recovered from huge Japan sinkhole after three months
A road in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, caved in during morning rush hour in late January while the 74-year-old man was driving his truck on it.
A massive underground water leak early Wednesday flooded the streets near an intersection on National Route 1 in Shimogyo Ward in the city of Kyoto.
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2025
Underground water leak floods Kyoto streets
City officials believe the aging water pipe, built 65 years ago, ruptured due to deterioration.
The site of a cave-in incident in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Jan. 30
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2025
Over 20% of Â鶹´«Ã½ water pipes are past their service life
The proportion of pipes in operation for over 40 years is expected to reach around 70% by fiscal 2042.
An aerial view of Thames Water's Beddington Sewage Treatment Works near Croydon, south London on Friday. Thames Water ¡ª and other British water companies privatized since 1989 ¡ª are under fire for allowing the discharge of large quantities of sewage into rivers and the sea.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 17, 2025
A stain on Britain: Sewage contaminates its waterways and seas
The pollution affects the seafood and tourism industries, while delaying construction projects and hampering the economy.
Thames Water's Beddington Sewage Treatment Works near Croydon, south London, on Friday. Thames Water, and other British water companies privatized since 1989, are under fire for allowing the discharge of large quantities of sewage into rivers and the sea.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 15, 2025
A stain on Britain: Sewage contaminates its waterways and seas
Failings with the most basic services in British society, such as water and sewage, have been harming the broader U.K. economy.
Three workers died Friday in Oga, Akita Prefecture, after being found unconscious at a sewage construction site inside a manhole.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2025
Three construction workers die inside manhole in Akita Prefecture
The three ¡ª all residents of the city of Akita ¡ª had been repairing sewer pipes since early that morning, according to the prefectural government.
A sinkhole in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Feb. 5
JAPAN / Society
Feb 21, 2025
Japan to promote digital transformation for water systems
This move follows a road collapse incident in Saitama Prefecture, last month, believed to have been caused by a broken sewage pipe.
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®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.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®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.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
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.

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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