Martin Parr trains lens on sakura-crazy Kyoto
Celebrated British photographer Martin Parr focuses his lens on overtourism in Kyoto for the month-long photography festival Kyotographie during cherry blossom season.
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Japan Today
3 days ago
- Japan Today
Triple-hosted World Cup: Huge ambition at a hefty cost to planet
Qatar used an air conditioning system to blow cold air onto pitches at the 2022 World Cup soccer By Coralie FEBVRE The largest and most far-flung World Cup kicks off in 12 months with a record 48 teams spread across Canada, the United States and Mexico and sceptics are asking whether its frenzied growth is worth the environmental cost. FIFA, the governing body of world football, like the International Olympic Committee, insists it is working to reduce the carbon footprint. But the expansion from 32 competing nations to 48 and the resulting shift to multiple hosts both next year and in 2030, leads critics to question that claim. "Unlike the case of the Olympic Games, where the carbon footprints have been reducing over the last several editions, this is totally opposite in the case of the men's World Cup," David Gogishvili, a geographer at the University of Lausanne and a specialist in mega-sports events, told AFP. While the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was certainly compact, it drew criticism for its oversized, air-conditioned stadiums built at breakneck speed in a small country with a scorching climate. For 2026, all 16 stadiums -- ranging in capacity from the 45,000-capacity Toronto Stadium to the 94,000-capacity cauldron of Dallas Stadium -- already existed when the bid was made. '5 million fans' One problem is the distances. Foxborough Stadium, outside Boston, is 3,700 kilometers from the Azteca in Mexico City. The Stadium at BC Place in Vancouver is 4,500 km from Miami Stadium. That multiplies air travel for teams, officials, media and the "more than five million fans" who, FIFA says, "are expected to attend". Organizers say the 72 matches in the first round -- when teams will play in 12 four-team groups -- will pivot on three "regional hubs". Yet distances will still be huge. Group B, for example, has matches in Toronto as well as in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver on the Pacific Coast. For the 32 matches in the five-round knockout phase teams will be flying all over the map. FIFA, whose president Gianni Infantino proclaimed his "determination" to combat global warming at COP 26 in Glasgow, committed itself in 2018 to "measuring, reducing and offsetting" the emissions associated with its World Cups. Yet, since it was nailed in June 2023 by the Swiss Fairness Commission for boasting of the "climate neutrality" of the 2022 World Cup, without being able to prove the claim, FIFA has refrained from making assessments or promises concerning 2026. The only official estimate of the carbon impact -- a record 3.7 million tonnes of CO2 -- was made before the number of matches was increased from 80 to 104. "FIFA's insatiable appetite towards growth," Gogishvili said, means "more athletes, more fans, more hotel infrastructure, more flights. It's kind of a never-ending cycle". 'Environmental denial' A joint British report on football and the environment published in February by the New Weather Institute and Scientists for Global Responsibility, punningly entitled 'Dirty Tackle', said one men's World Cup finals match generates emissions "between 26 times and 42 times that for a domestic elite game" or the equivalent of "between 31,500 and 51,500 average UK cars driven for a whole year". "With every game added to the football calendar, international football associations make the world less safe," the report said. Next year's World Cup is not a blip. "It seems that the environmental denial of the FIFA World Cups will continue," wrote Gilles Pache, professor at the University of Aix-Marseille, in the Journal of Management. He pointed to 2030 that will open with matches in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, to celebrate the centenary of the first World Cup, before switching across the Atlantic to the three hosts Morocco, Spain and Portugal for the remaining 101 matches. The 2034 World Cup, will be held in Saudi Arabia, in a climate comparable to that of Qatar, but with 40 more matches. Saudi giant Aramco, the world's leading oil company, became a major FIFA sponsor of FIFA last year. © 2025 AFP
Asahi Shimbun
31-05-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
Balloon rides at ancient burial mounds in Sakai get nod
An image that the Sakai municipal government released in 2023 (Provided by Sakai municipal government) SAKAI, Osaka Prefecture--City authorities gave the go-ahead for trial balloon rides at ancient burial grounds here from early October. The area features the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group, a cluster of fifth century 'kofun' burial mounds designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. Trial balloon rides using helium gas were initially scheduled to get off the ground in spring 2023 but suspended due to a leak. Authorities here plan to use Daisen Park in the city's Sakai Ward as the launch site. The moored balloon will use helium gas for buoyancy to stay 100 meters above the ground. It will be tethered to the ground by cables and raised or lowered by mechanical equipment. Authorities will make an environmental impact assessment of the flights during the first year. If no problems arise, rides will continue for another six years. The fare for adults is expected to be around 4,000 yen ($28), but the amount will likely vary depending on whether the passenger is a Sakai resident, a domestic resident outside the city or a foreign resident/visitor. Details will be finalized later. Around 60,000 people are expected to take balloon rides annually. The operating company, Advance, is based in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture. Initial plans called for using a British-made balloon in May 2023, but the project was halted just before flights started after helium gas was found to be leaking from the balloon. The cause of the problem was not identified, and the British manufacturer later went into liquidation. As a result, authorities switched to a French manufacturer. Six years have passed since the plan was first announced. 'Safety and security are our top priorities and we want to get started,' Sakai Mayor Hideki Nagafuji told reporters. 'I believe the rides will lead to people rediscovering the charms of the Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group.' The area includes the 486-meter-long Daisen Kofun tumulus that is thought to be the final resting place of fifth century Emperor Nintoku. The keyhole-shaped moated mound is the biggest memorial of its kind in Japan and cannot be seen in its entirety from the ground. For this reason, Nagafuji announced in 2019, when the site was registered as a World Heritage Site, that the city would set up balloon flights.
Yomiuri Shimbun
29-05-2025
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Britons Become 1st to Scale Mt. Everest with Help of Xenon Gas, Organizer Says
KATHMANDU (Reuters) — Four British climbers became the first to scale Mt. Everest on May 21 using xenon gas, which helped them save several weeks that mountaineers need to get used to high altitudes, an official of their expedition organizing company said. Normally climbers spend several weeks or even months on the mountain to allow their bodies to adjust to higher altitudes before trying to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain. It is extremely dangerous to go up if the climber is not properly acclimatized. The British climbers, who had inhaled xenon gas in Germany before embarking on the expedition, climbed the 8,848 meter peak in less than five days after departing London, said Lukas Furtenbach of the Austria-based Furtenbach Adventures that organized the expedition. They slept in special tents that simulate high-altitude conditions at home before heading to the mountain and used supplemental oxygen like other climbers during their ascent. Xenon is a colorless and odorless gas found in very small amounts in the earth's atmosphere and is known to have some anesthetic properties and medical uses. 'Xenon improves the acclimatization and protects the body from altitude sickness and the effects from the hypoxic environment,' Furtenbach told Reuters in a text message from the base camp, referring to the low oxygen environment in the mountains. Furtenbach, who has logged four Everest ascents, said xenon gas was used by guides before, but 'it is the first time for clients,' or ordinary climbers. Xenon made the climb safer and shorter as it kept the climbers properly acclimatized, he said. 'Shorter expedition also means less garbage, less resources, less human waste in this sensitive environment,' Furtenbach said. Piles of garbage dumped by climbers have been an issue on Everest in recent years. American climber and guide Adrian Ballinger of the Alpenglow Expeditions company called the use of xenon a 'stunt … it's never seemed like the type of experience we want to provide.' 'Everyone should climb the mountain in a form they are proud of. If these climbers are proud of this style, then that's their choice,' Ballinger said. Nepal has issued permits to 468 people to Everest during the current March-May climbing season, and more than 200 have already topped the summit so far.
