YANAGITA Kunio, often called the father of Japanese folklore studies, proposed the “Kaijo no Michi (Ocean Route)” theory suggesting that the Japanese migrated across the sea, drawing on references such as Okinawa's cowries and the coconut palms at Cape Irako in Aichi Prefecture. His analysis that rice seeds and cultivation techniques spread together may offer insights into efficiently disseminating developed technologies like crop varieties and cultivation methods.

According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), October 2025 will be the third-warmest October on record globally, with an average surface temperature of 15.14°C, 1.55°C higher than the estimated pre-industrial average from 1850 to 1900, and the first time it has exceeded 1.50°C since April 2025. 2025 is almost certain to be either the second or third warmest year on record.

September and October in the Okinawa region have recorded the highest temperatures in recorded history. Such abnormal heat has triggered extreme rainfall and drought, significantly impacting not only the current season's production of sugarcane and tropical fruit trees but also future harvests.

Poverty remains overwhelmingly concentrated in rural areas. Improving agricultural productivity is fundamental to poverty reduction and must be promoted in tandem with diversification into non-agricultural activities such as agribusiness, tourism, and the green and digital economies.

On October 29, BioScience published the 2025 Climate Report: A Planet on the Brink, sounding the alarm that the impacts of human-induced climate change are no longer a future threat, but a real reality.

In paddy soils, microbially mediated redox cycling processes driven by water and soil management are believed to control the dynamics of soil minerals and soil organic matter. Toward the establishment of sustainable paddy rice farming systems, evidence is needed on practices that can increase rice yields while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as knowledge on the biogeochemical processes that shape specific paddy soils in the short and long term.

October 24th is World Development Information Day, which provides an opportunity to consider ways to use information to reduce poverty, promote education, and address environmental issues. At the JIRCAS International Symposium 2025, to be held next Monday, October 27th, we will present the achievements of the Green Asia Project, which has been promoting information dissemination aimed at transforming food systems in the Asian monsoon region. We will also discuss the needs to be addressed in the next phase of the project and the lessons that may be applicable to other regions.

The 2025 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report emphasizes that most poor people are exposed to at least one climate hazard, and even many face multiple hazards simultaneously, underscoring the need to address this potentially worsening double burden.

The World Meteorological Organization announced that atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) broke records in 2024. Global atmospheric CO2 concentrations, in particular, increased by 3.5 ppm from 2023 to 2024, marking the largest annual increase since modern observations began in 1957.