“Japan to use foreign reserves for ESG investments”

Japan to use foreign reserves for ESG investments By Reuters (investing.com)

Japan will start using foreign reserves to buy securities that meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday, joining a trend among global investors to focus on combating climate change.

“Japan to promote green finance with common platform, scenario analyses “

Japan to promote green finance with common platform, scenario analyses By Reuters (investing.com)

Japan will ramp up efforts to promote sustainable finance such as by nurturing its green bond market and analysing financial institutions’ resiliency to climate risks, according to the government’s new regulatory guideline.

“‘Super Monster Wolf’ a success in Japan farming trials”

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-43303781?mc_cid=3db347604f&mc_eid=eaaa9fef29

A robot wolf designed to protect farms has proved to be such a success in trials that it is going into mass production next month.

 

“Researchers work to reduce animals killed in drug testing”

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2017/01/31/Researchers-work-to-reduce-animals-killed-in-drug-testing/6351485874961/?nll=1

A team of researchers from Hiroshima University in Japan have developed a non-invasive way to test inflammation in drug testing that would not involve killing lab animals.

“This Company Wants to Convert Used Clothing Into Fuel”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-26/this-company-wants-to-convert-used-clothing-into-fuel

Recycler Jeplan is working to extract cotton fiber from used apparel and convert it to fuel. Jeplan says 1 ton of junked clothing can generate about 700 liters of ethanol, sparing land and water resources that could be used to grow food. The company says it’s also developed a way to recycle polyester. That compound is blended into many fabrics to reduce costs, improve durability, and make outfits wrinkle-resistant. It’s used in about 60 percent of the clothing produced worldwide each year, according to Jeplan, and can be a valuable resource when broken down and reused in new clothing.

“Japan’s Bogus Excuse For Killing Hundreds Of Pregnant Whales”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/03/27/3763754/japan-kills-whales-for-research/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cptop3&utm_term=1&utm_content=52

Every year, Japan undertakes what it has labeled as a scientific hunt for whales in the Southern Ocean. However, in 2014, the International Court of Justice ruled Japan should stop. Instead, Japanignored the ruling last year and announced it would continue whaling while reducing the number of whales it would kill by two-thirds to 333.

On Thursday, Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research detailed that out of the 333 minke whales it killed, 230 were females, and that more than 90 percent of those were pregnant.

“This Pond Scum May Fuel Your Airplane”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-07/this-pond-scum-already-in-your-smoothie-may-fuel-your-airplane

The future of Japan’s biofuel industry may be pond scum. Or more specifically, green algae that’s swirling around in tanks on a tropical Okinawan island.

“Solar Farmers in Japan to Harvest Electricity With Crops”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-26/solar-farmers-in-japan-to-harvest-electricity-with-crops.html

Japan’s campaign to boost renewable power supplies since the Fukushima nuclear disaster is producing some unlikely winners: vegetable farmers.

Makoto Takazawa and his father Yukio earned 1.7 million yen ($16,700) last fiscal year selling electricity from solar panels that hang in a giant canopy above their farm east of Tokyo. The cash was almost nine times more than they made from the crops growing in the soil below.

Under pressure from trade partners to reduce agricultural subsidies, Japan has found a way round this by giving clean energy subsidies to farmers instead.

“Japan Policy Stops Short of Setting Clean Energy Targets”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-07/japan-policy-stops-short-of-setting-clean-energy-targets.html

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government stopped short of setting goals for renewable energy in the final version of a draft plan that reinforces atomic power’s role in Japan’s energy future, calling it a vital source of generation.

“Japan Wind Lobby Says Environment Reviews Curb New Work”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-14/japan-wind-lobby-says-environment-reviews-curb-new-work.html

Japan’s effort to obtain more power from wind turbines is being held up by requirements for developers to conduct environmental impact assessments, undermining government support for the industry, a lobby group said.

The rules requiring the assessments for wind developers took effect in October 2012, three months after the government introduced an incentive program for wind, solar, small hydro, biomass and geothermal power.

It’s Catch 22 in Japan. Ever since the Fukushima Disaster environmental impact studies have become more important. Unfortunately, renewables like wind will reduce the negative environmental impact of the nuclear industry. Rules are rules.