An environment is a complex of surrounding circumstances, conditions, or influences in which a thing is situated or is developed, or in which a person or organism lives, modifying and determining its life or character.

• In biology, ecology, and environmental science, an environment is the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors that surround and act upon an organism or ecosystem.

• The natural environment is such an environment that is relatively unaffected by human activity.
  • environmentalism is a concern with the preservation of the natural environment, especially from human pollution, and the ethics and politics associated with this.

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The Japan Times: News & Business

Undoing a recruitment knot
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:10:00 -0500
The Oita prefectural board of education, rocked by a corruption scandal centering on teacher recruitment, has decided to have 21 teachers quit "voluntarily" after their recruitment test scores were found to have been artificially boosted. While the decision appears to be a correct one, it leaves some important questions unsolved. Acting on instructions from higher up, a former recruitment official for the board, who has been indicted on a bribery charge, is suspected of having inflated the scores of about 40 applicants in 2006 and 2007. People close to the applicants applied pressure on or made requests of education board officials and, in some cases, sent bribes. Read the full story
The DPJ's kind of nation
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:11:00 -0500
The sudden decision and announcement by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to resign must have caused a headache for the Democratic Party of Japan, the No. 1 opposition party. The DPJ had worked out a strategy for future general elections on the assumption that Mr. Fukuda would remain in power. The DPJ thought he would be an easy target to assail because of his low approval ratings and seeming aloofness from the public. Mr. Fukuda's announcement to resign has deprived the DPJ of the basis for such optimistic thinking. For some time to come, media will focus their attention on the political drama of choosing the new president of the Liberal Democratic Party, with the effect of diverting people's... Read the full story
'Life keeps right on moving'
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:12:00 -0500
Ashes and rubble covered the devastated land as far as the eye could see. That was the starting point of postwar Japan. Read the full story
Mitsubishi gets Boeing on board in development of Japanese jet
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:13:00 -0500
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. said Thursday it has concluded an agreement with Boeing Co. to receive support from the U.S. aircraft manufacturer in the marketing, development and after-sales activities for Japan's first domestically developed jetliner, the Mitsubishi Regional Jet. The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. subsidiary has already taken orders for the MRJ from All Nippon Airways Co. Following its scheduled maiden flight in 2011, the first of the MRJs are expected to be delivered in 2013. Read the full story
Singapore to hold Japanese pop culture festival
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:14:00 -0500
SINGAPORE (Kyodo) The first Japanese pop culture festival in Southeast Asia will be held in Singapore in November, showcasing some of the hottest Japanese "anime" (animation) blockbusters, "manga" (comics), toys and games, according to festival organizers. Anime Festival Asia 2008 is expected to attract about 100 participating companies and some 80,000 visitors, the organizers said, adding they hope to make it an annual event. Read the full story
Fuji TV gets OK to be holding firm
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:15:00 -0500
Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Hiroya Masuda formally approved a plan Thursday for Fuji Television Network Inc. to become a holding firm on Oct. 1, paving the way for the launch of Japan's first such entity in the broadcasting sector. Fuji TV, a key private broadcaster, decided to adopt the broadcaster holding company system to enhance the management and financial standing of the Fuji TV group, following the revision of the Broadcast Law, which took effect in April. Read the full story

Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

Sports › Okada banking on Euro talent as World Cup campaign resumes
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:11:00 +0100
Japan coach Takeshi Okada is banking on his Euro stars making the difference when the three-time Asian champions' World Cup qualifying campaign resumes against Bahrain…
Business › Gold tableware on sale for Y100 mil
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:49:00 +0100
Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry KK has put on sale Chinese tableware made of pure gold for 100 million yen per set. The company hopes that the…
Crime › Woman, 23, held for kicking 1-yr-old daughter to death in Saitama
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:08:00 +0100
A 23-year-old woman was arrested on Friday for beating her 1-year-old daughter to death at their apartment in Saitama. Kazusa Kondo was arrested for allegedly…
World › Saudi cleric says celebrating birthdays un-Islamic
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:32:00 +0100
When Hala al-Masaad invited her girlfriends over to celebrate her 18th birthday with cake and juice, the high school student was stepping into an unusual…
Politics › Sakurai to be Supreme Court justice
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:14:00 +0100
The government on Friday appointed former labor ministry bureaucrat Ryuko Sakurai as Supreme Court justice to replace Kazuko Yokoo, who has decided to resign two…
World › 'WWII skeleton' found in New Guinea jungle revealed to be tree branch
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:10:00 +0100
A skeleton-shaped object found hanging in the jungle canopy in Papua New Guinea and thought to be the remains of a World War II airman…

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