One Blog for the Kids!: Japan

Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts

Friday, February 26, 2010

NZ PREFERS DIPLOMACY TO END WHALING DISPUTE

Whales on the verge of extinction... will it be saved in time

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WELLINGTON - New Zealand wants diplomacy rather than an international court to find a way to end Japan's whaling in Antarctic waters, Prime Minister John Key said yesterday.

Mr Key was responding after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday bluntly warned Japan that it must commit by November to reducing its annual whale catch to zero or face action in the International Court of Justice.

"Any court case is likely to take a long time to resolve," Mr Key said. "We really want to save some whales. Coming up with a diplomatic solution has got to be a faster way than a court case."

New Zealand and Australia oppose Japan's killing of hundreds of whales each year, carried out in the name of "scientific research".

Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, said yesterday the international court was not the right forum for the dispute because Japan's "research whaling" was legal under international law.

He reiterated Japan's position that it seeks a diplomatic solution rather than a court case. AFP

From TODAY, Tuesday, 23-Feb-2010

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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Solar eclipse shrouds Asia in cloak of darkness

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Is this your first time to witness a solar eclipse? If it were many years back then, technology wasn't available to capture so many awesome pictures.

One news story is here. Hope you learn something about the solar system we live in.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

It's raining tadpoles in Japan town, residents say

Posted: 10 June 2009 1553 hrs

Tadpoles

TOKYO: Meteorologists in Japan say the rainy season has just started in Tokyo, but residents in a small coastal town have reported a different phenomenon -- tadpoles dropping out of the sky.

An office clerk in Nanao said he first noticed the anomaly when he heard a dull thud in a parking lot last week, news reports said. Looking around, he saw about 100 dead amphibians splattered on car windshields and the ground.

More reports followed from bewildered residents in Nanao.

"People speculate that a waterspout picked them up and dropped them from the air," an official at a local weather observatory told AFP. "But from a meteorological point of view, I have to say it is most unlikely."

"We have checked the weather conditions of last week, thinking gusts of wind might have hit the area but confirmed no damage," he said. "To be honest, I don't think it was anything caused by a weather condition."

Similar events -- in what is sometimes called the "Fafrotskies" phenomenon, short for "fall from the sky" -- have been reported around the world, with whirlwinds passing over water bodies and picking up frogs, jellyfish or other unfortunate animals before dumping them back to earth.

- AFP /ls

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

It's raining tadpoles in Japan town, residents say

Posted: 10 June 2009 1553 hrs

Tadpoles

TOKYO: Meteorologists in Japan say the rainy season has just started in Tokyo, but residents in a small coastal town have reported a different phenomenon -- tadpoles dropping out of the sky.

More reports followed from bewildered residents in Nanao.

- AFP /ls

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Automakers go green with eco-friendly cars

By Rachel Kelly, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 03 June 2009 2045 hrs

Japanese couple consider a hybrid car

SINGAPORE: Governments, companies and individuals worldwide are gaining interest in issues related to climate change, and becoming more environmentally aware. And this is taking business down a new path.

Japanese car maker Toyota announced on Wednesday it will be leasing 200 plug-in hybrid cars by the end of the year in Japan to boost sales of green cars.

Over in the US, President Barack Obama has just signed a new bill aimed at increasing gas mileage and decreasing green house gas pollution for all new trucks and cars sold in the US.

The move will force US car makers to dramatically boost the efficiency of cars and trucks by 2016.

The programme begins with car models made in 2012.

Meanwhile, China has already announced plans to become the world's largest producer of electric cars, with US$1.5 billion ($10 billion Yuan) package for research and development.

Cash rebates of up to US$8,800 will also be on offer for electric car purchases.

Over in Japan, the major car brands have been picking up speed when it comes to hybrid vehicles. They want to tap into the growing popularity of hybrid cars.

Just last month, Nissan saw orders for its eco-friendly cars jump 30 per cent on year.

Toyota has received pre-sales orders of more than 80,000 vehicles for its remodelled Prius hybrid.

Interest in green vehicles in Japan may have been boosted by the government's new tax incentives for low-emission cars.

This is a growing trend worldwide, with more countries offering tax incentives for such cars and imposing emission caps.

And soon, owning a green vehicle will move from being a trend to a must. - CNA /ls

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.