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Anna Watanabe
For Anna Watanabe's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
May 30, 2021
Aussie softball team prepares to touchdown in Tokyo ahead of Olympics
The team will be sequestered at a hotel in the Gunma Prefecture city of Ota as it prepares to face the host nation in the tournament's opening game on July 21.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 22, 2021
Australian project striving to find subjects of lost Japanese photos
After finding a haul of photos at a flea market, one artist has spent her time in lockdown trying to reunite them with their owners.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 5, 2021
After Australia's bush fires, 'koala ark' looks to future-proof populations
It's estimated that up to 90% of Kangaroo Island's previously 50,000-strong koala population was killed as flames swept through eucalyptus plantations.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2020
Hayabusa2 capsule in 'perfect condition' as Japan team prepares for analysis
If the mission was successful, the capsule will contain two samples from the Ryugu asteroid, including the first subsurface asteroid sample ever collected.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 24, 2020
Japanese POW art in Australasia analyzed for first time
Academics say the previously ignored works illustrate the 'isolating and traumatic experience of internment.'
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 7, 2020
Australians enjoy access to luxury food as restaurants and exports halt
Producers and wholesalers have begun selling high-end stock directly to the public, giving ordinary households rare access to luxury meats and seafood.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jan 17, 2020
Sakakibara siblings set course for Tokyo 2020
When it came time for Sydney-based brother and sister BMX riders Kai and Saya Sakakibara to decide which country they would represent as athletes, the Olympic hopefuls were spoiled for choice.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2019
Evacuated Japanese volunteer returns to Bougainville to see independence vote
The last Japanese citizen to be evacuated from a war-torn region of Papua New Guinea has returned to witness a long-awaited referendum on independence.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 11, 2019
Japanese and other tourists flock to Uluru as climbing ban looms
At the base of Uluru are signs in seven languages asking people to reconsider climbing the landmark, once known as Ayers Rock.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2019
Erna Takazawa, Samoa's only optometrist, focused on giving islanders access to eye care
When Erna Takazawa was about 15 years old, growing up in the Pacific island nation of Samoa, her older sister started having vision problems.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 15, 2019
Studio Ghibli fans flock to rural Australian bakery that may have inspired 'Kiki's Delivery Service'
A bakery in a tiny, rural town in northeast Tasmania has become an unlikely pilgrimage site for Japanese tourists and Studio Ghibli animation fans alike.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2019
Australia finds a ready Japan market for 'pest' sea urchin
The island of Tasmania has long been renowned for producing some of Australia's tastiest seafood.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 13, 2018
Australia's only Japanese winemaker serves no wine before its time
"Wine is just a drink. If it's not delicious, it's not worth talking about," explains Japanese winemaker Atsuko Radcliffe matter-of-factly.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 14, 2018
New Zealand's first and only sake brewery turning heads
New Zealand is famous for its award-winning wines, but now the country's first and only sake brewery is making a name for itself on the world stage.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2018
Seven years on, Japanese bereaved remember Christchurch earthquake
New Zealand on Thursday marked the seventh anniversary of an earthquake that devastated the South Island city of Christchurch in 2011, killing 185 people and injuring thousands.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2017
Japan's fondness for Christmas bush means blooming exports for Aussie florists
It took flower grower Paul Dalley almost seven years before he found the perfect Australian native for the Japanese flower market, but once he did he never looked back.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world