Volunteers help carry out furniture in the town of Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture on April 26.
JAPAN / Society
May 5, 2024
Volunteer activities in full swing in Noto during Golden Week
Local governments prepare for an influx of traffic during the holiday period as some volunteers begin entering the area in their own vehicles.
A staff member works at the animation studio Shake Hands in Kyoto on Jan. 24. The studio aims to provide job training and confidence to people with autism.
JAPAN / Society
May 5, 2024
Anime studio draws on talent of autistic artists
The groundbreaking initiative aims to provide job training and confidence to people with autism.
The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
JAPAN / Society
May 4, 2024
Japan’s record-low children population weighs on growth
The number of children 14 years old or younger fell for the 43rd straight year to around 14.01 million as of April 1.
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
JAPAN / Society
May 3, 2024
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A Sapporo court ruled last month that an Ainu group only has the right to engage in salmon fishing for cultural — but not commercial — reasons.
Yukio Tsunezuka holds a back issue of the Noto magazine in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on April 22.
JAPAN / Society
May 3, 2024
Local info magazine in quake-hit Noto region set for revival
The New Year's Day quake struck just as the latest edition was about to be printed.
Jiro Suzuki, head of Kosaka Railroad Railpark in Kosaka, Akita Prefecture, stands next to a retired Akebono sleeper train that is now being used as a lodging facility, on April 22.
JAPAN / Society
May 3, 2024
Lodging in 'blue train' to resume in Japan after five-year hiatus
Services using the retired sleeper train are set to restart Saturday after five years of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Customer harassment” — in which customers harass front-line workers with aggressive behavior or unreasonable requests — has become a growing problem in the service industry.
JAPAN / Society
May 2, 2024
Japan steps up measures against 'customer harassment'
A 2022 survey found that 67.5% of respondents had experienced some kind of harassment from customers in the past three years.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces