Last week, Japan became one of the first nations to sign a legally binding treaty designed to curb mercury pollution. Named for the Japanese city that saw severe cases of mercury poisoning in the 1950s, the Minamata Convention on Mercury is the first new global convention on environment and health in nearly a decade. The Convention regulates a variety of areas, including the use of mercury in products and industrial processes, and addresses the mining, safe storage, and import and export of the metal. These regulations come at a time when, according to a UN Environment Progra

Earlier this month, Fukushima's operator TEPCO announced that radioactive water was still leaking over underground barriers. The prime minister promised "firm measures," but a nuclear expert stated last week that he believes the leaks are even worse than stated by plant and government officials. Mycle Schneider, a consultant on nuclear issues, told the BBC that water is leaking all over the site and that there are no accurate figures for radiation.

Asia's confidence in nuclear power continued to falter as Taiwan said that a plant may have been leaking radioactive water for three years, and as the Fukushima site faces additional complications. In Taiwan, the government's watchdog released a report warning that the First Nuclear Power Plant, located near densely populated Taipei, has been leaking toxic water from the storage pools of two reactors. An official from the plant's operating company responded that the water did not come from the storage pools, but may have come from condensation or water used to clean the floors.

Australia accused Japan of carrying out commercial whaling under the pretext of scientific research in violation of an international ban during the first day of court hearings between the two countries. Australia, which seeks to put an end to the yearly slaughter of nearly 1,000 whales in the Southern Ocean, has asked the International Court of Justice to withdraw the Japanese fleet's whale hunt permits.

Experts determined that a nuclear reactor on the west coast of Japan is located on ground at high risk of an earthquake, beginning a process that will likely end with the first permanent shutdown following the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Closing the reactor would be the most stringent measure yet adopted, though the industry currently only has two out of 50 reactors running as it awaits safety checks from the new regulator. The possible permanent closing of the reactor may signal a change in the way Japan deals with its nuclear industry. "It is no longer business as usual.

Tokyo Electric Power, the utility that operates the Fukushima nuclear plant, rushed to build new tanks for radioactive water storage after finding contamination that may have leaked from one of its pits. The underground tanks store radioactive water used in the plant's cooling system, and if the leak is confirmed, it will be the third one discovered since April 6. "There are a lot of makeshift fixes. They are walking a tightrope from one jerry-rigged fix to another," said one worker.

Japan announced that it successfully extracted natural gas from frozen methane hydrate, a world first. The gas field, off Japan's central coast, could provide an alternative energy source for a nation that imports all of its fuel needs. The supply of methane gas could be enormous, but extraction raises environmental concerns as the geology containing it is unstable in some places. Production tests will continue for the next few weeks, but government officials have said they plan to establish technologies for practical use within the next five years.

The Japanese government said that it is concerned about its likelihood of obtaining a fair hearing from a case brought against it by Australia, saying that "serious anomalies" have arisen from the admission of New Zealand as an intervenor in the case on Australia's side. Australia has taken Japan to the International Court of Justice over its Antarctic whaling hunt, saying that its so-called scientific whaling breaches a moratorium on commercial whaling.

Japan's government is attempting to reverse plans to phase out nuclear power, almost two years after the Fukushima disaster. The previous government promised to rid the nation of all 50 nuclear reactors by 2040, dramatically shifting earlier plans to increase Japan's dependence on nuclear from 30 percent to 50 percent by 2030. The new government has announced a review of the nuclear phaseout, and has promised to restart reactors that pass safety tests.

Japan backtracked on plans announced earlier this month to drop nuclear power, saying it would "take into consideration" a goal for a 2040 phaseout after it drew sharp criticism from industry. Business groups and communities whose economies depend on local power plants strongly opposed the plan, and chairmen of Japan's business associations called a joint news conference to demand the government drop its 2040 goal.