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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
ENVIRONMENT / Longform
Apr 11, 2022
As the crow flies: A bird’s eye view of Japan’s urban ecology
Tokyo's once booming crow population has plummeted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. What does that mean for the world's largest city?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Mar 28, 2022
For some shrinking towns in Japan, depopulation isn't all bad news
For the first time, more than half of all municipalities in Japan will be designated by the government as wholly or partially underpopulated from April 1.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 16, 2022
Where is Japan's Great Resignation?
This week, senior staff writer Alex Martin joins to discuss the changing face of work in Japan, and why so few people seem inclined to switch roles.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / Longform
Mar 7, 2022
Is Japan on the brink of its own ‘Great Resignation’?
The pandemic has prompted millions across the globe to leave their jobs for more fulfilling, flexible roles. Should Japan's employers be worried?
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 3, 2022
The game of life, reimagined for a superaging society
In Community Coping, players are tasked with preventing communities from collapsing by connecting troubled residents with the right experts.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 14, 2022
How social norms have influenced Japan’s COVID-19 response
Without any legally enforceable lockdown measures, the watchful gaze of the public eye has kept the nation's citizens in check.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Feb 9, 2022
Raging river: Tracing the Arakawa, Japan’s most dangerous water source
While supplying Tokyoites with drinking water, the river has also been prone to deadly floods over the centuries — risks that are now being escalated by climate change.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Jan 10, 2022
So close, yet so far: What will travel look like in 2022?
Japan's battered tourism operators are somewhat hopeful that travel will regain its footing this year while incorporating the lessons learned from the past two tumultuous years.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Dec 25, 2021
Child adoption slowly gains ground in Japan, though prospective parents still face obstacles
Child adoption slowly gains ground in Japan, though prospective parents still face a number of obstacles in trying to expand their families.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2021
Tokyo exodus: Is the capital losing its luster among businesses?
Firms are moving their headquarters out of the metropolis at a record-setting pace amid the proliferation of remote work and growing risks of natural disasters.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2021
Pair of quakes shake Japan and prompt fears of more seismic activity to come
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake jolted eastern Yamanashi at around 6:30 a.m., which was followed by a magnitude 5.4 temblor in Wakayama three hours later.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Nov 29, 2021
On shaky ground: Is Tokyo prepared for the ‘Big One’?
A powerful earthquake that shook the capital in October has fueled fresh fears of an impending temblor that could devastate the world's largest city.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / Longform
Nov 22, 2021
Deflation generation: Japan’s budget-minded consumers keep price hikes in check
Decades of stagnant wages and low prices have ingrained a “deflationary mindset” into shoppers who are hesitant to spend more, thwarting policymakers' efforts to fan inflation.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 10, 2021
Japan's loneliness epidemic
Surveys of the Japanese public show that 1 in 2 people in their 20s and 30s have felt lonely during the pandemic.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Longform
Oct 29, 2021
Voter apathy looms over yet another election in Japan
Efforts are underway to buoy turnout amid widespread political disenchantment, especially among the young. Will more eligible voters exercise their rights during the Lower House election?
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Oct 25, 2021
Kodoku: The fine line between solitude and loneliness in Japan
The nation appears to be showing remarkable tolerance toward COVID-induced social isolation, but are people really fine being alone?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 21, 2021
Extinct Japanese wolf may hold key to unlocking origins of dogs
Genomic sequencing suggests the mysterious animal, considered extinct since 1905, is the closest relative of dogs and that its ancestral DNA has been widely inherited by man's best friend.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 14, 2021
The drones are coming: Unmanned machines fly to rural Japan's rescue
Aging and shrinking communities in the nation's countryside are looking to the sky for essential deliveries.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2021
Japan’s growing ‘underclass’ creaks under weight of pandemic
The nation's wealth gap is widening as the health crisis drags on, disproportionately burdening women and the expanding pool of nonpermanent workers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
Sep 27, 2021
How to retire in Japan decades earlier than you think
Japan's pioneers of the FIRE movement — u2018financial independence, retire early' — believe in living below one's means early in life so they're able to stop working well before retirement age.
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
By Stephen Mansfield

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