Earth Hour is a global environmental initiative where individuals, communities, and businesses turn off non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol of their commitment to the planet. It started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, and has grown into a...
Yokohama has always been a city in conversation with water. It faces Tokyo Bay, where the port shaped its modern identity, and it is laced with rivers that run past schools, parks and shopping streets. Yet this close relationship with water has also...
The Agematsu Town Tourist Information Center is small in the best possible way. A welcoming abode beside the Agematsu Station, and the surrounding powder snow was still mostly unfettered by human traffic. It felt like the sort of place you would...
Valentine’s Day is often treated as a sprint of glossy packaging, imported ingredients and impulse gifting. But we are also seeing some taking the reins and steering towards a more sustainable gifting season. Here are six brands that suggest gifts...
A recent survey conducted has found that 72% of residents in Japan are conscious of the “circular economy” in their daily lives. According to the survey of of 1,000 individuals aged 18 and over, about 50% of respondents in their 20s...
Japan’s 2026 policy calendar is planning tighter controls on waste in terms of information, while providing stronger incentives and obligations for circular design and recycling. With multiple commitments coming from various cities, like...
For coffee lovers, a looming threat hangs over their favourite drink. In Japan, we call it the “Kōhī 2025-nen Mondai,” or, translated literally, the “Coffee 2050 Problem”. It refers to a future crisis in which the world may struggle to meet demand...
Recently, we featured the spirit of “shimatsu no kokoro” when we had an insight into Kyoto’s blueprint for a Circular Economy. It holds a foundational concept that may even “precede” mottainai, which is a dislike in creating waste...
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in February set out revisions to shift the country from a linear to a circular economy, stressing that circularity must be designed across the whole product life cycle, not left to individual...
Japan’s convenience stores enjoy a romanticised image from visitors, often a symbol of choice, hygiene and efficiency! Walk into a Japanese convenience store in a business district at lunch time and you’d have a chance to witness the...