japan

Before the Japanese government can decide on a carbon trading scheme, it has to figure out ‘who’s got it right’ on emissions calculations.

SAKURA, Japan (Reuters) - With animal feed and fertilizer prices at record highs, Japan's food recycling industry is seeing greater demand than ever before for pellets for pigs and poultry made from recycled leftovers. - Myles Price

The pollution in the Thi Vai river, near Saigon in Vietnam, has reached such a critical level that Japanese ships are now refusing to dock in the port for fear it will corrode their ships' hulls.

In a city with few green spaces, Namba Parks is a welcome swath of green for the inhabitants of Osaka. Check out this full size photo of this amazing piece of architecture. The complex stands where Osaka’s baseball stadium used to be until 2003, and consists of a 30-floor skyscraper, Parks Tower, and a shopping mall with eight floors of terraced gardens.

- Shahriar Davaran

TOKYO (Reuters) - Environmental group Greenpeace said on Friday two of its activists had been charged with stealing a box of whale meat while conducting a covert operation into suspected cases of embezzlement. The public prosecutors office in Aomori, northern Japan, charged Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki with theft and trespass, the group said in a statement. -Metro Elite Mortgage

There are many reasons to overcome fashion's destructive downside. Fortunately, positive and innovative changes make 2009 fabric choices exciting.

Starting things off with a bang, Chile declared a permanent ban on whaling on the opening day of the International Whaling Commission’s annual meeting. The Pacific Ocean-bordering country is playing host to the conference, where tensions are running high.

TOKYO (AFP) - Toys are no longer just child's play in Japan, where an ageing population and expanding waistlines have spawned a wave of gadgets to help adults beat stress, battle the bulge or relieve loneliness.

Junichi Sato is not only a whale activist in Japan (and there ain't many people who can put THAT on their business card), he's also a blogger. And he's been arrested for the crime of exposing the truth.AFP reported "Sato, writing on his blog shortly before his arrest, appealed for a continued probe into the alleged whale meat embezzlement. "I just want to appeal to the hearts of people involved in the whale embezzlement case: 'Do you think it's alright to remain silent?'" Sato wrote.

Mazda Motor Corporation and Hiroshima University are researching together to develop a brand new “green” plastic material from cellulosic biomass. They want to use it in vehicles by 2013.

GlobalCompassion.com is a gallery displaying photography of people and cultures around the world. One outstanding photographer is featured per week with 9 to 12 selected photos.

Masaru Goto is a highly regarded Japanese photographer known for his compassionate documentary work “highlighting the plight and resilience of ordinary people caught in conflicts, suffering under oppression, or economically disadvantaged.’

There is a mystique surrounding these beautiful Japanese rock gardens, aka Zen gardens, that originated in the Japanese culture hundreds of years ago.

With financial support from Greenpeace, humpback whales have been tagged by the Cook Islands Whale Research and Opération Cétacés. The satellite tagging, skin biopsies and photo identification has already provided a huge amount of information about the migration patterns of threatened humpback populations. The "scientific whaling" carried out by the Japanese government does not address the most important needs identified by the International Whaling Commission, and can not be seen as justifiable. This year their quote includes 50 humpback whales.

A new poll released today shows that the number of Japanese who don't support whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is growing - the 69% figure is a slight increase on the number found by a similar poll last year. Perhaps surprisingly, the Greenpeace commissioned poll showed that 87% were unaware that their tax money was being used to subsidise the whaling operation.

Japan's prime minister hopes to make a splash with a speech on the environment this weekend in Davos, but the beleaguered leader faces hurdles convincing the world he can spearhead the fight against climate change.