Mari Saito - The Japan Times

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Mari Saito

Reuters

For Mari Saito's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC

Jan 29, 2020

First love on the front lines: Coming of age in the Hong Kong protests

Many years from now, far from the spray of water cannons and the unmistakable smell of tear gas, they will look back on their season of protest and remember exactly how they felt.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Dec 16, 2019

On Nagano's Lake Suwa, climate change unravels 600 years of history held dear

Kiyoshi Miyasaka climbs the stone steps of his shrine, autumn leaves crunching under his feet. The Shinto priest, dressed in white, aims an orange leaf blower at a row of cobblestones and clears the path of fallen leaves.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jan 7, 2019

In a Tokyo neighborhood's last sushi restaurant, a sense of loss

"I'll have a draft," says Yasuo Fujinuma, heaving himself down at the sushi counter. He pulls a pack of cigarettes from a frayed pocket of his sweater. From the corner of the restaurant, a small TV hums the noon weather forecast. He never drinks at noon.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS

Dec 11, 2018

Climate change creates mutant fugu, a deadly Japanese delicacy

The road, hemmed in on one side by empty warehouses and the other by a concrete seawall, ends abruptly in a desolate parking lot. Men step out of their cars and into the darkness, then slip behind the sliding doors of a warehouse. Inside, they huddle under floodlights and wait. A clock on the wall ticks to 3:10 a.m.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Nov 30, 2018

In rural towns like Shikoku's Ikata, the Japanese nuclear industry is making a quiet comeback

On a side street near a darkened Ikata shopping arcade full of abandoned storefronts, the Sushi Ko restaurant is unusually busy on a weekday.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Nov 26, 2018

Austere Japan detention quarters contrast starkly with Carlos Ghosn's globe-trotting lifestyle

Prosecutors have confirmed that Nissan's arrested chairman, Carlos Ghosn, is being held in the spartan Tokyo Detention House in Katsushika Ward — its many rules and restrictions making for a stark contrast with his comfortable, globe-trotting lifestyle.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Nov 2, 2018

Japanese towns that thrive on once-abundant squid suffer as numbers decline at alarming rate

Takashi Odajima picked up a cracked and faded photograph and dusted it off with his sleeve. He smiled a little sadly at the image from long ago, back when he was a baby boy.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jul 16, 2018

In Mabicho, delays, lack of awareness raised death toll from floods

When Isao Akutagawa moved to the sleepy riverside community of Mabicho in Okayama Prefecture 45 years ago, it seemed like the perfect suburb to raise his children.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Society

Aug 9, 2016

Refugee reluctance clashes with labor realities as asylum seekers, banned from working, build Japan's roads

Mazlum Balibay paves Japan's roads, digs its sewers and lays its water pipes — all for a country that doesn't want him.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Society / FOCUS

Mar 9, 2016

Japan detention center deaths cast doubt on 'appropriate medical steps'

Niculas Fernando died at a Tokyo immigration detention center sometime between 9:33 a.m. and 10:44 a.m. on Nov. 22, 2014, according to the coroner.

Japan Times

BUSINESS / Companies

Jul 29, 2015

Subaru's secret: Low-paid foreign workers power an export boom

Yasuyuki Yoshinaga was in a good mood at the early May earnings briefing in Tokyo. The top executive at the maker of Subaru automobiles joked that he would have to wear a helmet on an upcoming trip to the United States. The reason: Dealers were going to hit him over the head for not supplying them with enough of his cars to sell.

BUSINESS / Companies

May 14, 2015

Japan's top carmakers to expand Takata air bag recalls by millions

Japan's three biggest carmakers are expanding a huge global recall triggered by potentially fatal air bags made by Takata Corp, saying on Wednesday they will take back millions of vehicles worldwide for investigation.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Mar 25, 2015

Battle of Iwojima forgotten, except toll

When Yoshitaka Shindo was a boy, he did not hear much from his family about his grandfather, Tadamichi Kuribayashi, commander of the Japanese troops who fought and died in the bloody Battle of Iwojima.

JAPAN

Mar 5, 2015

Court battles are sole remaining obstacle to nuclear restarts

The fight over Japan's nuclear industry moves to the courts, where utilities face the risk of further costly delays if judges side with residents worried about nuclear safety.

Japan Times

BUSINESS / Economy

Feb 12, 2015

Ketchup-maker Kagome hikes prices but fears consumers aren't ready to pay more

For Tokyo-based condiments maker Kagome, and perhaps for the government, the challenge of breaking with a decade and a half of deflation boils down to the price of a bottle of ketchup.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Oct 8, 2014

Fukushima No. 1 plant workers kept in the dark over hazard pay

Almost a year after Japan pledged to double hazard pay, workers still don't know how much extra — if anything — they'll get for cleaning up the nuclear disaster.

Japan Times

JAPAN / Politics

Oct 3, 2014

Could Obuchi become Japan's first female prime minister?

With a telegenic presence, powerful ruling party mentors and a talent for avoiding making political enemies, new trade and industry minister Yuko Obuchi may have what it takes to become the country's first female prime minister.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Aug 31, 2014

Fukushima fallout: solidarity turns to resentment in city hosting evacuees

Like many of her neighbors, Satomi Inokoshi worries that her gritty hometown is being spoiled by the newcomers and the money that have rolled into Iwaki since the Fukushima nuclear disaster almost 3½ years ago.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Jul 10, 2014

Fukushima farmer takes on Tepco over wife's suicide

The Fukushima District Court is due to rule next month on a claim that Tokyo Electric Power Co. is responsible for a woman's suicide, in a landmark case that could force the utility to publicly admit culpability for deaths related to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Japan Times

JAPAN / FOCUS

Jun 4, 2014

Atop Pacific 'Ring of Fire,' debate flares over volcanic risk to Japan's nuclear plants

In the three years since the Fukushima disaster, Japan's utilities have pledged $15 billion to harden their nuclear plants against earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes and terrorist attacks.

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

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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