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September 19, 2025
 

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Alex K.T. Martin

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Alex K.T. Martin
Alex K.T. Martin is a Tokyo-based journalist and senior writer at The Japan Times, primarily focusing on feature stories. Previously he was a Tokyo correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 26, 2018
Rakuten and Walmart take aim at Amazon, with alliance for groceries and e-books in Japan and U.S.
E-commerce giant Rakuten and retail behemoth Walmart form a partnership to launch e-content sales and a Japanese grocery delivery service via Seiyu.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2018
Japan's Recruit Holdings announces entry into vacation rental market
Recruit Holdings Co. announces its entry into the vacation rental market ahead of a new law giving the green light to private short-term minpaku lodging services.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 16, 2018
Docomo experiment to take bite out of food waste woes
The move is part of an ongoing effort by Japan Inc. to reduce the immense quantity of food discarded by food companies and retailers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2018
Vegetable prices surge as last year's typhoon and bad weather catch up to supermarkets
Crops damaged by Typhoon Lan and chilly weather in 2017 are causing prices for lettuce, cabbage and radishes to soar.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2018
Time-honored Showa Era club in Ginza closes after a nine-decade run
A time-honored night club considered one of the symbols of Tokyo's upscale Ginza shopping district closed its doors Wednesday after a nearly nine-decade run.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / TSE DATA & REPORT
Jan 9, 2018
Nikkei posts new 26-year high as analysts predict gains to continue
Expect the 225-issue Nikkei average's upward momentum to continue, analysts say, as the benchmark index hit a new 26-year high Tuesday on the back of gains in U.S. shares and a solid corporate earnings outlook.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 4, 2018
Japan's banks secure access to police agency database to help screen for yakuza and other 'anti-social forces'
Starting Thursday, Japanese Bankers Association members will be able to screen individual loan seekers using the National Police Agency's database of organized crime members.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 28, 2017
Japan's first 'official' same-sex couple announce separation
Japan's first official same-sex couple terminated their partnership on Christmas Day.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2017
Tokyo's Kabutocho financial district gets creative in bid to revive its quiet streets
It's a Monday night in late November and Ryutei Ichiya, a kimono-clad 34-year-old rakugo comic raconteur, is performing a skit in front of a crowd of over 100.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2017
Japan's glut of abandoned homes: Hard to sell but bargains when opportunity knocks
Realtor Yuken Kon specializes in properties most of his peers steer clear of.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 25, 2017
New JRA system to let addicts' families block online gambling
The Japan Racing Association says it will begin accepting applications Thursday from family members living with those clinically diagnosed with gambling disorders or suspected of struggling with its symptoms.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2017
Taiwan objects to Kojien dictionary's definition of the independent island state
The publisher of Kojien, the most authoritative dictionary in Japan, has been stuck between a rock and a hard place over its definition of Taiwan as a province of China, prompting a request for a correction from the self-ruled island.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2017
Cabinet OKs record-high ¥97.71 trillion 2018 budget to cover rising social security and defense costs
The Cabinet approves a draft budget of u00a597.7 trillion for fiscal 2018, breaking the record for the sixth year straight.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 14, 2017
Rakuten announces foray into saturated Japanese cellphone market
The e-commerce giant aims to become nation's fourth mobile carrier, in a move that threatens to disrupt the cellular phone market oligopoly.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2017
Japanese workers feel guilty taking time off and use fewer holidays than their international peers: survey
A survey revealed that Japanese used 50 percent of their vacation days, placing them at the bottom of the list for the second consecutive year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2017
Rakuten Inc. teams up with Booking.com to offer minpaku lodging services
E-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. is teaming up with global online travel agent Booking.com as it prepares to take on Airbnb Inc. in the increasingly competitive market for private short-term minpaku lodging services.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 5, 2017
Two Japanese animated films in contention for top recognition at Annie Awards
Two Japanese animated films — one dealing with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the other about the fantastical adventures of a nap-loving high school girl — have been nominated in one of the main categories for the 45th annual Annie Awards.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2017
Birkenstock looks to step up Japan sales with a mix of tradition and bold new ideas
German shoemaker Birkenstock plans to double its business in Japan and offer consumers a wider range of products through selective distribution, according to the first chief executive officer from outside the founding family to run the centuries-old company.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 21, 2017
Jobs battle environment on sacred but scarred Mount Buko
Shin Sasakubo grew up listening to blasts of dynamite scar the slopes of Mount Buko and echo across his small town every day at half past noon.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 17, 2017
Airbnb's Japan unit denies violating antitrust laws after raid by FTC in October
Airbnb's Japan arm reveals it was raided by the Fair Trade Commission last month but denies any wrongdoing.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan
Proxy-shopping services — companies that ship Japanese products ranging from cosmetics and snacks to limited-edition stationery on behalf of customers abroad — are already feeling the impact of the U.S. suspending de minimis exemptions.
Over 90% of low-income families in Japan struggling to feed children
Save the Children Japan domestic program chief Sonoko Kawakami speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in July. A survey conducted by the group in June has found that over 90% of low-income households with children face food insecurity.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
Still plenty to fight for, says Japan’s team leader at worlds
Race walker Hayato Katsuki earned bronze for Japan on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

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