Flush, then Fill Up: Japan Taps Sewage to Fuel Hydrogen-Powered Cars
When Mutsuro Yuji, chief of the central sewage plant in Fukuoka, first heard about the idea of making hydrogen from biogas — the combination of methane and carbon dioxide produced by the breakdown of stinky matter — he was skeptical. But now, drivers are able to roll up to the sewage plant and power up their hydrogen fuel cell cars at what you might call the world’s first toilet-to-tank filling station.
Citizen Science Takes on Japan’s Nuclear Establishment
As other Tokyo office workers poured into restaurants and bars at quitting time one recent evening, Kohei Matsushita went to the eighth floor of a high-rise for an unusual after-hours activity: learning how to assemble his own Geiger counter from a kit.
What’s Hot in Japan Right Now? Los Angeles, Circa 1976
Julie Makinen highlights the social fascination with a 40 year-old Japanese magazine depicting West Coast life, and how reactions to it have changed or stayed the same among Japanese readers.
As Japan’s Population Shrinks, Bears and Boars Roam Where Schools and Shrines Once Thrived
In Hara-izumi, there’s no worry about an influx of foreigners. There are no immigrants here, nor the prospect of any. A bigger issue now is wildlife: The village’s population has become so sparse that wild bears, boars and deer are roaming the streets with increasing frequency.
No TPP Trade Deal? Some Japanese Farmers Say All the Better for Them
Rice farmer Takao Terada isn’t following the U.S. presidential election too closely. But there’s one issue that both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton seem to agree on — that the U.S. should not ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact — and that’s music to his ears.
US-Japan Journalism Fellowship | 2016 Program
The 2016 cohort of JCIE’s US-Japan Journalism fellows traveled to Japan in June to meet with a wide range of leaders from different sectors of Japanese society tackling pressing issues of the day.
US-Japan Journalism Fellowship | 2016 Seminar—Creating Opportunity through a More Inclusive Society
A distinguished panel of journalists engaged in a lively discussion on the 2016 US presidential election and how women, youth, and other minority groups are shaping American politics.
President Trump? Among U.S. Allies, Japan May be One of the Most Anxious About That Idea
By Julie Makinen
Is Japan gaga for Donald Trump? That was the impression created by a spellbinding YouTube video that went viral last week. Despite the video’s popularity, the reality is that perhaps no U.S. ally is as anxious and befuddled about the prospect of a President Trump as Japan.
Japan’s Population is Plunging, so Where are the Babies?
Sally Herships analyzes the cultural factors that are contributing for population decline in Japan.
A Vote for Trump is a Vote for China
Isaac Stone Fish writes on how Donald Trump’s policies benefit China and the effect this has on the US-Japan relationship.