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    Japan’s New Environmental Minister Calls for Closing Down All Nuclear Reactors to Prevent Another Disaster Like Fukushima

    Japan’s New Environmental Minister Calls for Closing Down All Nuclear Reactors to Prevent Another Disaster Like Fukushima

    By Jessica Corbett Japan’s new environmental minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, called Wednesday for permanently shutting down the nation’s nuclear reactors to prevent a repeat of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, comments that came just a day after Koizumi’s predecessor recommended dumping more than one million tons of radioactive wastewater from the power plant into the Pacific Ocean. […]

    900,000 Forced to Evacuate Deadly Flooding in Japan

    900,000 Forced to Evacuate Deadly Flooding in Japan

    Floods and landslides triggered by record-setting rainfall in southern Japan have forced authorities to order more than 900,000 people to leave their homes and another one million were advised to move to safety on Wednesday, according to Reuters. In just 48 hours, Kyushu Island received more than twice its average rainfall for the entire month […]

    57 Dead, 18,000 Hospitalized in Japan Heat Wave

    57 Dead, 18,000 Hospitalized in Japan Heat Wave

    While the worst of this summer’s heat seems to have passed in the U.S. and Europe, Japan is in the throes of a dangerous heat wave. The end of the rainy season last week brought a dangerous heat wave that claimed the lives of 57 people in Japan and sent tens of thousands to the […]

    9 Nara Deer Found Dead After Eating Plastic in Sacred Japanese Sanctuary

    9 Nara Deer Found Dead After Eating Plastic in Sacred Japanese Sanctuary

    The global plastic crisis has invaded a sacred sanctuary in Japan. Nine deer in Nara Park that have died since March were revealed to have massive amounts of plastic bags and food wrappers in their digestive tract. Three of the nine deaths were attributed directly to digestive issues from eating the plastic, said Yoshitaka Ashimura, […]

    Will High-Speed Rail Ever Get on Track in the U.S.?

    Will High-Speed Rail Ever Get on Track in the U.S.?

    By Jeff Turrentine Is it just us? Other countries don’t seem to have a problem getting their high-speed rail systems on track. This superfast, fuel-efficient form of mass transit is wildly popular throughout Asia and the European Union. Japan’s sleek Shinkansen line, the busiest high-speed rail system in the world, carries an estimated 420,000 riders […]