Features
Ubigi launches unlimited travel eSIM data plans for Japan
Ubigi, a global cellular connectivity service provider, has announced the expansion of its range of travel eSIM data plans for Japan, now offering travelers the choice of unlimited data plans in addition to the previously available fixed data capacity plans. This launch marks a significant milestone in Ubigi's mission to… Read
Whales recovering from near extinction, but industrial fishing around Antarctica competes for their sole food source
The Southern Ocean encircling Antarctica is the world’s largest feeding ground for baleen whales – species like humpbacks that filter tiny organisms from seawater for food. In the 20th century, whalers killed roughly 2 million large whales in the Southern Ocean. Some populations, like the Antarctic blue whale, were reduced… Read
Endometriosis pain leads to missed school and work in two-thirds of women with the condition, new study finds
More than two-thirds of women with endometriosis missed school or work due to pain from the condition, in a study of more than 17,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the U.S. That is a key finding of new research published in the Journal of Endometriosis and… Read
10 types of harassment in Japan
A few years ago, after seemingly being pigeonholed as an English teacher job after job, I was excited to finally have my first non-teaching office position in Japan. My excitement waned, however, with each red flag I noticed. I was repeatedly held late at the office, alone with the much older… Read
Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris shows how big a role music is playing in 2024 election
Music generates passion and emotion, so it’s little surprise that popular tunes have been featured in presidential contests since the days of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. But as a scholar of music’s role in American politics and patriotism, I’ve never seen music assume as much electoral importance as it… Read
Japanese chocolate fans create 'Chase the Thunder' hack for new Mister Donut Halloween collection
You’ll find a lot of chocolates in Japan, but if you’re looking to taste one that’s achieved cult status amongst locals, you have to try a little chocolate called Black Thunder. Priced at just 35 yen, this palm-sized chocolate bar contains crunchy biscuit and cocoa cookie pieces that give it a wonderful… Read
End of the strong chu-hi boom? Kirin launches new low-alcohol canned cocktail line
You can’t get drunk without alcohol, but that doesn’t mean that everyone who drinks alcohol is looking to get drunk. That’s the underlying logic behind the newest line of beverages from Kirin Beer, which is bringing out a new line of low-alcohol canned cocktails. For the past decade, the major trend in… Read
Climate ambitions face headwinds as EU changes guard
What does the future hold for EU climate policies? This week's unveiling of the new European Commission will be watched closely for clues -- at a time when defending the environment has skidded down the list of priorities in Brussels. It is a far cry from five years ago. Back… Read
Fish, for so long a part of the Japanese diet, hangs in the balance
Japan without fish is like Japan without Zen – less Japanese, somehow. Zen, for centuries scarcely separable from the Japanese mind, survives attenuated if at all. Fish, for millennia scarcely separable from the Japanese diet, hangs in the balance. “Within five years fish will vanish from the Japanese table,” fears Josei… Read
East is East, West is West − and Turkey is looking to forge its own BRICS path between the two
Turkey tends to march to its own drum in international affairs. Take the United Nations vote on Dec 14, 2022, when the body’s General Assembly approved a resolution in favor of a New International Economic Order. Some 123 member states – largely the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America… Read
