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May 09, 2024
 

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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.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Dec 19, 2022
Downsizing death: Japan's funeral industry at a crossroads
The death care business is rethinking the services it offers in response to soaring bookings and sagging revenue in a rapidly aging nation
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 30, 2022
How making alcohol from trees could give rural Japan a buzz
Alex K.T. Martin joins us to talk about the science — and sustainable process — behind the process that may bring cedar, oak and sakura to your next cocktail session.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Longform
Nov 28, 2022
Wood spirits: How Japan made the world’s first liquor from trees
History is being made by a technology that may help aging rural populations, reinvigorate the nation's struggling forestry sector and shake up the global alcohol industry in unforeseen ways.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 2, 2022
Hey Japan, are you happy?
Deep Dive explores whether the Japanese are content or not with the help of Alex K.T. Marin, who has written several features on the polls and surveys of happiness.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
Oct 31, 2022
Can Japan’s pandemic-hit amusement parks return with a bang?
Does the opening of Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture reflect a turnaround in fortunes for theme park operators in Japan?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
Oct 17, 2022
Work forever: Japan’s seniors brace for life without retirement
Many older Japanese can no longer afford to stop working as demographic woes pressure the nation's labor market and social security system.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Sep 19, 2022
Pitch black: A therapeutic walk into total darkness
Night treks help people in Japan reclaim a primitive fear and reverence toward a world without light.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2022
As prices continue to rise, Japan’s frugal households get even thriftier
Against a backdrop of a weaker yen and soaring raw material and crude oil costs, over 20,000 products have seen or will see prices raised by an average of 14% this year, research shows.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Aug 29, 2022
How faith and spirituality shape modern Japan
The religious movement behind the grudge held by the man charged with Abe's assassination has cast a fresh light on how religion is perceived and practiced in the nation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Aug 1, 2022
Inside Japan's happiest town
A shrinking community that was fading into obscurity is now considered the nation's happiest town. What's the secret behind the smiles in Hatoyama, Saitama?
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / Longform
Jul 18, 2022
Submerged secrets: The hunt for Japan’s underwater ruins
Although the island nation has lagged behind in the field of underwater archaeology, there's a growing thirst for sunken discoveries.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 14, 2022
The rapid rise of round-the-clock fitness in Japan
The world's largest fitness chain is expanding its footprint in a nation opening up to the merits of building up muscle.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2022
Former PM Shinzo Abe in 'serious condition' after being shot in Nara
The former prime minister was attacked while giving a campaign speech ahead of Sunday's Upper House election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 27, 2022
What evil lurks in the shadow of anonymity?
Fueled by pandemic-induced stress, nameless netizens are directing myriad harmful and threatening messages on the internet with little fear of retribution.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Jun 13, 2022
As COVID-19 fears subside, Japan debates the future of masks
How much longer before the nation reaches a tipping point when people start ditching their masks en masse?
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
May 30, 2022
Is Japan happy? Exploring the nation’s evolving views of well-being
Why does a prosperous nation known for its efficient transportation networks, accessible education and universal health care rank so low when it comes to personal views of happiness?
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / Longform
May 15, 2022
Documenting Okinawa's changing identity over the past half century
A photographer captures the changes that have taken place in the archipelago since it was returned to Japan 50 years ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 11, 2022
Researchers trace the evolutionary origins of the Japanese wolf
A study suggests the now-extinct Japanese wolf originated through the hybridization of ancient, giant Pleistocene wolves and continental wolf lineages tens of thousands of years ago.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
May 9, 2022
Out of the box: Japan's vending machines get a modern makeover amid pandemic
The health crisis has highlighted the merits of the unmanned dispensers, leading to a flurry of new — and sometimes bizarre — products being offered by the electronic boxes.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 27, 2022
Japan is losing people, but is it all bad?
Staff writer Alex Martin joins to discuss Japan's declining population, and why one town in Saitama thinks it's not all bad news.
Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows
The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.
Thanks, tourists. Views of Mount Fuji are now blocked.
Tourists pose in front of a convenience store with Mount Fuji on Friday in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture. Local residents are upset over littering, overcrowding and the inconvenience caused by the visitors.
Is Modi’s party heading for a stunning election loss?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign tactics have escalated, including anti-Muslim rhetoric and fearmongering, reflecting his ruling party's desperation.
Two more arrested over brutal murder of couple in Tochigi
A vehicle carrying Seiha Sekine, the 32-year-old common-law husband of the deceased Tokyo couple's first daughter, leaves a police station in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward on Tuesday.
After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.
Stormy seas ahead as Beijing and Manila trade barbs over secret deal
Philippine Marines wave to Philippine Navy personnel and the media during a resupply mission at their military outpost, the BRP Sierra Madre, a warship run aground in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in 1999, in the South China Sea, in March 2014.
Unlike 10 years ago, Japan's new security bill sparks little debate
The Lower House starts discussing a security clearance bill on April 19 in Tokyo.
After blockbuster boxing victory, what next for ‘Monster’ Inoue?
Naoya Inoue celebrates his victory over Luis Nery in their IBF-WBA-WBC-WBO super bantamweight title boxing match at Tokyo Dome on Monday.
Xi bristles as Macron and von der Leyen urge China to do more on Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen walk after their meeting in Paris on Monday.
How a Japanese scientist is turning the climate crisis into music
A screencap of a performance of Hiroto Nagai's “String Quartet No. 1 ‘Polar Energy Budget’” by the PRT Quartet

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

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
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