A shrine in Iwakuni held a memorial for 281 white snakes that died in one year, the most since records begin in 2009. Only 804 remain in the society's care, and this sacred albino population now breeds as a closed group.
Japan's Environment Ministry dropped a plan in August 2026 to list every cat as invasive. On Amami Oshima, 727 forest cats were caught over seven years, 723 were rehomed, and no euthanasia was recorded.
Researchers landing on Nishinoshima must first wade into the sea, gear and all, so no seed comes ashore. Two 2026 studies show why: seabirds, not people, brought the plants.
Japan's 2025 seafood output fell to 3,577,400 tonnes, the lowest since 1956, while FAO puts world production at 235 million tonnes. Comparing quota rules with Norway and the US shows why fewer fishermen isn't the answer.
Takasaki pays 300 yen per beetle. Kawashima paid 100 yen and closed two and a half months early after handing out 7 million yen for 70,000 insects. Taiwan ran almost the same scheme, and cancelled it.
Three lions died at Tokyo's Tama Zoological Park, with dehydration and organ failure. July humidity there was an ordinary 77 percent. Japan's heat index weights air temperature at just 10 percent.
Glassy radioactive particles called cesium balls were thought to stay in Fukushima's topsoil. A Kyoto University team found them inside 39 of 52 earthworms, and one 15.5 centimeters down.
A wild boar was seen hunting a live rabbit on Japan's Rabbit Island in March 2024. Researchers say unregulated tourist feeding has swollen the rabbit population, and that leftovers and carcasses draw boars in.
A bacterium at Okinawa's deep-sea vents grows on electric current alone, building itself from CO2. JAMSTEC has caught electrosynthesis happening in the wild.
Kushiro Airport in Hokkaido is the first in Japan to fully deploy WOLF-GUARD, a self-driving version of the famous Monster Wolf robot. In trials, the Monster Wolf cut small-animal intrusions by about 60 percent. Here's how the red-eyed, howling patroller works, and how it compares with the falcons, border collies and radar used at airports abroad.
Japan's largest native slug reaches nearly 20cm, never shows up in city gardens, and carries both sexes in one body. How it compares to North America's banana slug and Europe's Arion slugs, and why forests need it.