As the Osaka Expo comes to an end next week, academics and diplomats, as well as a petition a high schooler founded, are calling for its Grand Ring, the largest wooden structure in the world, to be fully preserved. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/10/japan/society/calls-for-full-preservation-of-osaka-expo-grand-ring/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #2025osakaexpo #osaka #architecture
An estimated 680,000 children have been displaced by gang violence in crisis-wracked Haiti, nearly double the number from a year ago, UNICEF said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/09/world/society/haiti-children-un-report/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #society #haiti #poverty #children #unicef #un
Björn Brembs
boosted
Dear Friends in the #US 🇺🇸 ,
the number of followers of #Mastodon accounts belonging to universities and #research institutes in #Germany has surpassed the 180k mark today and continues to rise
👉 https://mastodon-listen.playground.54gradsoftware.de/?liste=institute-DE
This is a fantastic achievement, and we would like to congratulate everyone involved! 👏
It shows that the social networks of the #Fediverse can replace the increasingly antisocial networks of #BigTech.
We don't have to legitimize the spread of hate and incitement by contributing to these platforms.
We have alternatives. 🌞
And we would like to encourage you in the #USA to make stronger use of these alternatives.
In our appeall to HRK we have written: „By supporting the expansion of Fediverse services such as Mastodon, #universities can make an important contribution to strengthening our #democracy and to the #sustainable development of #science and #society.“
https://openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon
Dear Friends in the #US 🇺🇸 ,
the number of followers of #Mastodon accounts belonging to universities and #research institutes in #Germany has surpassed the 180k mark today and continues to rise
👉 https://mastodon-listen.playground.54gradsoftware.de/?liste=institute-DE
This is a fantastic achievement, and we would like to congratulate everyone involved! 👏
It shows that the social networks of the #Fediverse can replace the increasingly antisocial networks of #BigTech.
We don't have to legitimize the spread of hate and incitement by contributing to these platforms.
We have alternatives. 🌞
And we would like to encourage you in the #USA to make stronger use of these alternatives.
In our appeall to HRK we have written: „By supporting the expansion of Fediverse services such as Mastodon, #universities can make an important contribution to strengthening our #democracy and to the #sustainable development of #science and #society.“
https://openpetition.de/Unis4Mastodon
About 80% of households in Japan have felt the impact of rising prices on their family budgets, a recent survey shows, with 91.3% of those households saying hikes have impacted food expenses. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/09/japan/society/japan-inflation-hit-family-survey/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #surveys #inflation #sumitomolifeinsurance
Nearly 1 in 6 children in Gaza are acutely malnourished after two years of war that has caused severe food shortages in the Palestinian territory, according to a study. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/09/world/society/children-gaza-children-malnourished/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #society #famine #children #unrwa #un #middleeast #israel #gaza #israelhamaswar #palestinians
Women are genetically at higher risk of clinical depression than men, Australian researchers have found in a study that could change how the disorder is treated. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/08/world/society/study-women-genetic-depression/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #society #mentalhealth #women039sissues #depression
Artificial intelligence, the technology upending nearly every corner of society, is creeping into religion, serving up virtual Jesus and automated sermons — a change drawing mixed reviews from the faithful. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/08/world/society/virtual-jesus-faith-ai-religion/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #society #religion #ai #tech
The Mie Prefectural Government plans to create what it says will be Japan's first ordinance with a penalty aimed at deterring customers from behaving abusively to workers. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/08/japan/society/mie-prefecture-plans-customer-abuse-penalty/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #mie #localgovernment #customerharassment
In flood-prone regions of Bangladesh, solar-powered "floating schools” ensure children do not miss class when rising waters cut off roads and villages. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/08/asia-pacific/society/bangladesh-flood-schools-boats/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #society #bangladesh #floods
Elementary and junior high school teachers in Japan still work the longest hours among their peers worldwide, according to an OECD report released Tuesday. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/07/japan/society/oecd-survey-japan-teachers-working-hours/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #teachers #surveys #oecd #education #schools #ai
Israel is marking the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack as Hamas and Israeli negotiators hold indirect talks to end the two-year war in the Gaza Strip under a U.S.-proposed peace plan. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/07/world/society/israel-october-7-anniversary/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #society #middleeast #israel #gaza #israelhamaswar #palestinians #hamas #benjaminnetanyahu
Hundreds of trekkers stranded by a blizzard near Mount Everest in Tibet have been guided to safety by rescuers, Chinese state media has reported, as unusually heavy snow and rainfall pummeled the Himalayas. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/07/asia-pacific/society/trekkers-blizzard-everest-tibet/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #society #mounteverest #tibet #china
The government's revised plan for preventing human rights violations linked to corporate activities is set to designate human rights due diligence at small companies as a "priority area" for the first time. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/07/japan/society/japan-corporate-human-rights-action-plan/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #humanrights #foreignworkers
In many other countries, startups producing defense-related technology would be unremarkable. But Japan has long had few startups and a taboo against the defense industry, including severe restrictions on arms exports. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/07/japan/society/japan-investment-defense-startups/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #defense #defenseministry #startups #airkamuy #sdf #sanaetakaichi #constitution
In the small town of Kutchan, near the internationally renowned Niseko ski slopes in Japan, a barren field once planted with potatoes has become a flash point for a national conflict over labor, tourism and immigration. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/04/japan/society/japan-foreign-workers-ski-resort/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #hokkaido #tourism #immigration #jobs
An independent global conservation organization visited 25 animal cafes in Tokyo and its surrounding areas, where it found bacteria such as E. coli at six of the stores, as well as inadequate sanitation at many of them. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/03/japan/society/wwf-japan-survey-animal-cafes/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #animalwelfare #animalcafes #tokyo
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Komeito and Nippon Ishin no Kai on Friday confirmed that foreign students who are not expected to settle in Japan are ineligible for the country's tuition-free high school program. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/03/japan/society/foreigners-high-school-free-tuition-eligibility/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #expats #highschools #education #ldp #komeito #nipponishinnokai
Have a “good Halloween,” not a disruptive one, Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe is urging foreign visitors ahead of the celebration, during which costumed revelers typically descend upon the popular Tokyo district. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/03/japan/society/shibuya-halloween-restrictions/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #tokyo #shibuya #kenhasebe #halloween #alcohol #tourism #drinking
More than 100,000 children in Myanmar's western coastal state of Rakhine are suffering from acute malnutrition, with less than 2% able to access treatment, according to data provided by aid workers. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/02/asia-pacific/society/myanmar-hunger-catastrophe/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #asiapacific #society #myanmar #rohingya #hunger #children #food #aid
