Japan's Environment Ministry confirmed PFAS contamination above national limits at 629 sites across 26 prefectures in fiscal 2024 — including locations near U.S. military bases, factories, and Self-Defense Force facilities. A UN special rapporteur has voiced 'most serious concern,' while Japan's standards lag far behind those of the U.S. and EU.
Two Japanese volcanoes are on heightened alert at the same time. Sakurajima produced its first pyroclastic flow since 2018 on May 8, while Mount Meakan in Hokkaido recorded 254 volcanic quakes in 24 hours. Here's what tourists need to know about nearby destinations, alert levels, and trustworthy sources
A Reeves's muntjac was sighted in Sakai, Ibaraki Prefecture in late April — the first confirmed sighting in two years and five months. Under Ibaraki's first-of-its-kind ¥2,000 bounty program for citizen-submitted photos, this should have been the first qualifying case. Why is Japan offering cash for sightings of a cute, dog-sized deer? We unpack the agricultural damage, the SFTS tick-borne disease angle, the unsettling lessons from Britain, and what happens if the front line in Ibaraki fails.
Japan's ruling LDP is pushing to build a dedicated rare earth mining vessel for ~100 billion yen ($640M) at Minamitorishima. Here's why JAMSTEC's Chikyu isn't enough, the 2028 commercialization roadmap, and how Japan's strategy compares with US and EU efforts.
In April 2026, all six Tohoku prefectures issued their earliest-ever bear alerts. A fatal attack in Iwate, Aomori's first urban emergency hunting in Hachinohe. Meanwhile, Shirakawa-go deployed 10 'Bear Sonic' units emitting a chalkboard-scratching sound. In Toyama, sightings dropped to zero for a year after installation. Can this Japanese acoustic technology save the day?
Frass discovered on a wild cherry tree at Yoshinoyama, Nara—home to 30,000 sacred cherry trees revered for 1,300 years—has been confirmed as damage from the invasive red-necked longhorn beetle. The first such case in any Japanese national park. A story at the intersection of invasive species, climate change, and cultural heritage.
Japan's vacuum equipment leader ULVAC is reshoring production of vacuum melting furnaces for rare earth magnets, with orders from US and European manufacturers projected to roughly triple. With over 70% global share in continuous vacuum furnaces, Japan's equipment dominance becomes a geopolitical asset.
Researchers at the University of Tsukuba have discovered that pill bugs (Armadillidium vulgare) don't just incorporate the calcium carbonate they eat — they rebuild it from scratch inside their bodies, always producing calcite even when fed aragonite. The unexpected polymorph control reveals a deeper biomineralization mystery and may inspire next-generation biomimetic materials.
On May 31, 2026, 19 Crested Ibises will be released in Hakui City, Ishikawa—the first wild release on Honshu in 56 years. Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko will attend, returning to a milestone they witnessed in 2008 on Sado Island. The release is also a symbol of recovery from the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake. We compare this revival story with the California Condor and Korean Oriental Stork programs.
At Inazumi Underwater Cave in Oita Prefecture, professional diver Yuji Ohama (60) and his team reached 97.4m depth on March 20, 2026—likely a Japanese national record for underwater limestone caves. Formed 300 million years ago and submerged by an Aso volcanic eruption 85,000 years ago, the cave's deepest section revealed primordial stalactites and geological strata never seen above ground. We compare this discovery with Mexico's cenotes and Florida's cave systems, and explore Japan's only commercially diveable underwater limestone cave.
When did crabs start walking sideways? A Japan-US-Taiwan team led by Nagasaki University filmed 50 species and mapped them onto a phylogenetic tree, finding that sideways walking evolved just once around 200 million years ago, published in eLife.