Asia-Pacific

Levels of lithium in the municipal water of Oita prefecture in Japan have been linked to lower rates of suicide, according to a new study.

Japan's four major highway operators will drastically lower their tolls, thanks to a generous government economic stimulus package aimed to encourage motoring during the major holidays. The operators are preparing for the enormous traffic jams.

The Russian government is building a 2-mile bridge from Vladivostok to a tiny island in preparation for the 2012 Asia Pacific Economic Summit. Many in the country say the $1 billion plan is a waste of money and a bridge to nowhere.

How the "road tribes" — the impenetrable scrum of bureaucrats, politicians and industry that benefit from an ever-expanding program of road construction — are literally paving the road to national ruin in Japan.

High speed train technology is progressing at a rapid pace in Japan, where mag-lev bullet trains are planned to travel at speeds of more than 310 miles per hour by the year 2025.

Good green jobs are on the way - just not right away due to recession. Stimulus funds - not just from U.S. but many nations are investing in their economies by targeting renewable energy, smart electricity grids, energy efficiency, and more.

This video takes a look at what may be the world's best subway system - Hong Kong's MTR. Riders hold shares in the public-private entity. And, as the video explains, it is profitable.

This piece from Next American City looks at the human toll major building projects are taking on construction workers in China, Dubai and other rapidly developing places.

Manners Mall in Wellington, NZ, has been closed to all vehicles since the seventies. The City Council wants to restore buses through the walkway to improve service.

Violent activists threw gasoline bombs from the top of a building in Seoul, protesting forced evictions to make way for new development. Police stormed the building, and the resulting fire killed six.

When Sony was preparing to build a virtual meeting space for Playstation 3 users, they took the unusual step of hiring a real-world architect, Kenji Ikemoto.

Young Japanese men and women are ditching the car as a status symbol, sparking concern for car companies.

Modern Jakarta has turned its back on its historic core, founded in 1619 by Dutch colonists. A handful of people are now trying to save the historic streets and building from ruin.

Writer Karrie Jacobs (no relation) tours the rapidly-urbanizing cities of Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Dubai. As development forces small neighborhood cultures out, she can't help but wonder what Jane Jacobs would think.

Two digital cameras atop a billboard at a Tokyo rail station will scan passersby. One will record who is looking at the billboard, the other will count the number of people passing by.

At the Japanese website Nioibu.com, visitors are geomapping odd odors, from gasoline fumes to curry.

The demilitarized zone dividing North and South Korea has become one of the world's most important wildlife conservation sites.

A U.N. report details the severity of the 'brown cloud' phenomenon affecting much of Asia and other parts of the planet. In addition to reducing sunlight and causing premature death, the clouds affect weather patterns, harvests, and glacier declines

Researchers in Asia are warning that unless governments start to make their urban planning policies more bicycle-friendly, bikes could virtually disappear from the urban environment within a decade.

Besides Chicago, another Daniel Burnham-planned city is turning 100. Baguio City in the Philippines will turn 100 in 2009, and local planners are trying to apply urban reform elements from Burnham's original plan in time for the celebration.