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☆ Super-aged Japan now has 9 million vacant homes. And that’s a problem
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Chris Lau | Mayumi Maruyama | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“This is a symptom of Japan’s population decline,” said Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba. “It’s not really a problem of building too many houses” but “a problem of not having enough people,” he said. According to figures compiled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 14% of all residential properties in Japan are vacant. “When an earthquake or a tsunami occurs, there is a possibility that vacant houses will block evacuation routes as they break down and get destroyed,” he said. In other rural areas with a high concentration of vacant houses, akiya have stalled development, the professor said.

Persons: ”, Jeffrey Hall, “ It’s, don’t, Akio Kon, it’s, “ They’re, Buddhika Weerasinghe, Yuki Akiyama, Akiyama, ” Akiyama Organizations: CNN, Kanda University of International Studies, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Kanda University, “, Bloomberg, Getty, Ministry, Internal Affairs, Communications, Tokyo City University, Homes Locations: Japan, New York City, Tokyo, Kyoto, Chiba, Kanda, Yato, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa prefecture, Tambasasayama, Noto, Ishikawa, Europe, West, “

☆ Japan launches bullet train service to a region that 'guidebooks rarely mention'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Rob Goss | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Japan is launching a new high-speed bullet train, or shinkansen, extension on Saturday that will make an under-the-radar prefecture far more accessible to travelers. The new train will pass through the city of Fukui, the town of Awara and other places guidebooks rarely mention, before reaching the port town of Tsuruga, adding some 78 miles to the Hokuriku Shinkansen's existing Tokyo-to-Kanazawa service. A Geisha walks through a performance hall in Awara, Japan. The end of the lineThe new shinkansen service ends in the town of Tsuruga. Kehi-no-Matsubara in Tsuruga, Japan.

Persons: dino, Juratic, Dogen, it's, Buddhika Weerasinghe, Arief, Sugihara Chiune, Sugihara, Matsuo Basho Organizations: Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, Zen, Getty, Humanity Museum, Mixa Locations: Japan, Fukui Prefecture, Tokyo, Fukui, Awara, Tsuruga, Kanazawa, Katsuyama, Kanaz, Suishouhama, Poland, Lithuania, Nazi

☆ Tottori Sand Dunes: Japan’s disappearing desert
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Claire Hannum | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But these are the Tottori Sand Dunes, wedged along the coast of Japan’s sparsely populated San’in region, the country’s very own slice of desert. A dwindling treasureThe Tottori dunes are located on the western coast of Honshu, Japan’s largest and most populous island. The Tottori Sand Dunes are just 12% of the size that they were 100 years ago. “The environmental conditions of the Tottori Sand Dunes are different from those of arid lands because of its humid climate,” Nagamatsu says. “But Tottori University is promoting arid land research using the ‘sand’ conditions of the Tottori Sand Dunes and experimental facilities.”Down the road from the research center, tourists are experiencing an otherworldly adventure in the sand.

Persons: you’d, They’ve, Takeo Arishima, ”, Dai Nagamatsu, Akira Miyawaki, — Buddhika, Nagamatsu, shiba, sandboarders, Anya Jarilla, “, it’s, amulapo, Kengo Kuma Organizations: Japan CNN, Sand Museum, Tottori University’s Faculty of Agriculture, Local, Brazilian Amazon ., Research Center, ” Staff, Associates Locations: Tottori Prefecture, Japan, Tottori, Honshu, Japan’s, Osaka, Hiroshima, Chūgoku, Sendai, Tottori University’s, Tottori City, Brazilian, Paragliders, Tottori Sand, Tokyo, ”

☆ Sri Lanka needs institutional changes for long-term debt sustainability, says professor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Buddhika Weerasinghe | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesSri Lanka needs institutional reforms in order to achieve long-term debt sustainability, said Steve Hanke, who played a key role in establishing new currency regimes in emerging markets like Argentina and Montenegro. "In fact, most of the personalities involved in Sri Lanka at the high level are exactly the same as they've been for years. In September, the IMF outlined a series of steps that it wanted Sri Lanka's government to implement prior to loan approval, which included major tax reforms. "Debt relief from Sri Lanka's creditors and additional financing from multilateral partners will be required to help ensure debt sustainability and close financing gaps," the fund said at the time. "The Secretary welcomed Sri Lanka's commitments to transparency and comparable treatment for all bilateral official and private creditors."

☆ EU sanctions, Russian oil price cap cause tanker bottleneck as crude moves through Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Buddhika Weerasinghe | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesNew Turkish insurance rules on oil tankers carrying Russian crude continue to slow down the movement of tankers off the coast of Turkey and between Russia's Black Sea ports and the Mediterranean. Sixteen vessels (none Russian-flagged) are waiting for insurance clearance, according to MarineTraffic, and that number is expected to grow. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards"The majority of crude is going to Turkey, followed by Greece, Italy, and India," Ashiq said. Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, tells CNBC that concerns about the age and quality of the shadow fleet carrying Russian crude oil through the Bosphorus will only grow. "As the EU sanctions take hold, these transit delays will impact Chinese and Indian refiners who remain the largest and grow in importance for Russian oil sales," Lipow said.

☆ World’s most beautiful castles
▼ + stars: | 2019-08-07 | by ( Joe Yogerst | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

As the UK crowns a new monarch, we’re exploring all things royal, from castles to grand tours. “Castles are places were plots were hatched, marriages were consummated, murders carried out, royal babies born, and so on. With castles, you are never short of fascinating things to talk about.”Read on to find out more about 21 of the world’s most beautiful castles, fortified homes that are both a feast for the eyes and a time trip back to the bygone age during which they were created. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket/LightRocket via Getty ImagesThis classic medieval castle towers above the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea. The castle’s vivid red-and-yellow color pattern – and its flashy clock tower – endow Pena with a much more playful air than the somber castles found elsewhere in Europe.

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