Asia

"Despite being orchestrated by musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, novelist Kenzaburo Oe and other prominent figures, the Sayonara Nukes 100,000 Rally held on the July 16 national holiday in Tokyo often looked and felt like conventional old-left demonstrations.

The rally to demand a nuclear-free Japan drew a large number of labor union members, consumer and other old-time activists, waving flags of their organizations, among the estimated 170,000 participants in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward.

"Japan approved on Monday incentives for renewable energy that could unleash billions of dollars in clean-energy investment and help the world's third-biggest economy shift away from a reliance on nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster."

"Three-quarters of the meat from whales caught last summer was unsold, report reveals."

A 23-year-old battle over construction of a nuclear power plant in India's southern state Tamil Nadu seems to be coming to a climax -- as politicians shift sides, protesters go on hunger strikes, and the political fallout from Fukishima settles.

"DUJIADUN, China -- Liu Changxiong has been farming in this southwestern Chinese village for more than a decade, but his years of experience aren't of much use these days."

"TORONTO -- More than 130 large dams built, under construction, or proposed in western China's seismic hazard zones could trigger disasterous environmental consequences such as earthquakes and giant waves, finds a new report from the Canadian watchdog group Probe International."

"TOKYO -- A vast majority of Japanese favor the gradual phasing out of nuclear plants but accept that some reactors need to be restarted to secure enough power in the short term, a newspaper poll showed on Sunday."