Swastika Jajoo - The Japan Times

September 15, 2025

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Swastika Jajoo

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Swastika Jajoo (fourth from right) began attending the daily radio calisthenics routine at Sendai’s Kitasanbancho Park and struck up unexpected friendships with a group of elderly residents.

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

Sep 15, 2025

Calisthenic companions bridge cultures and generations

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a doctoral student in Sendai found friendship in unexpected places.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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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