photo: Greenpeace
The saga of the two Greenpeace activists arrested over two years ago for stealing whale meat from a shipping depot, in an effort to expose corruption within Japan's whaling program, is over. Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki were given one-year jail terms, suspended, for theft and trespassing. Prosecutors had wante...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Photo via kasei.co.uk
It turns out that a surprisingly high number of grade schools in Japan are serving their students more than just a well-rounded education. According to the results of a survey released today, whale meat is back on the menu at about a sixth of Japan's public elementary and junior-high schools...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Photo via Animal Planet
Each year in early September, Japan opens season on dolphins, and today marks the start of the season in Taiji, a now notorious place for slaughtering cetaceans thanks to the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove. And of course, activist Ric O'Barry is on the move. He delivered a petition to the US Embassy in Tokyo signed by 1.7 million people from 155 countries demanding an end to ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Photo: Better Place
59 Seconds Average Swapping Time
Better Place, in collaboration with the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Nihon Kotsu Co., Tokyo's largest taxi operator, has been doing real-world testing of a battery-swapping station in Tokyo. The trial, which started last April and has just been extended until November, aims to determine the "feasibility of battery switch as means for taxis to have instant, zero emission, range extension."...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Image: Toyota
WHIIIRRRRRR
Toyota will be offering its Japanese customers an optional (for now) $150 device that makes its 3rd generation Prius hybrid easier to hear at low speeds. They call it the "Approaching Vehicle Audible System", and it basically makes whirring sounds that vary in pitch with the speed of the car up to 25 kph (check out the video below)....Read the full story on TreeHugger
Image credit: The Association to Preserve the Earth, via Japan for Sustainability
Harris Teeter may be stretching the concept of local food more than most, and industrial agriculture may be making efforts to go green, but with the 100 Mile Diet still going strong as a cultural phenomenon, the idea of labeling...Read the full story on TreeHugger