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October 13, 2024
 

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COMMUNITY

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Without Japanese outdoorsman George Masa, America might not have the Great Smoky Mountains National Park — so why do so many people in Japan not know he existed?
COMMUNITY / Issues
The forgotten Japanese naturalist who created a U.S. national park
George Masa was an enigmatic figure, but his contributions to preserving America's natural beauty are unassailable.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
From the division of war, 75 years of intercultural aid
Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, the mission of the College Women’s Association of Japan remains straightforward yet ambitious: Women supporting women.
COMMUNITY / Issues / Longform
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’
You've likely heard of the American dream. In Japan, where no such concept exists, immigrants forge their own ideals.
More tourists than ever are guided around Japan based on the content they consume online, but can those same creators help direct them to less-populated areas of the country?
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Jul 29, 2024
Influencers helped cause overtourism. Can they help fix it?
By Jane Pipkin
“I don't want to use filters or put out content just for the sake of views and followers,” one content creator says. “I want to show people what the real Japan is.”
In 2023, Bryan Eastlake (left) began a three-year contract with the local Takahama tourism association to write, post photos and otherwise promote the small town in northern Kyoto Prefecture to a wider audience.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
May 20, 2024
The new vanguard of rural revitalization efforts in Japan
By Justin Randall
Currently, the Regional Revitalization Corps has around 200 foreign residents working in different industries around the country.
A general election must take place in the U.K. by late January 2025, which means plenty of time for expats abroad to register and vote.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Feb 26, 2024
As more U.K. expats get the vote, Japan’s ballot box stays closed
By Jordan Allen
As of Jan. 16, Brits abroad — including the more than 17,000 in Japan — are able to register to vote regardless of how long they have lived overseas.
Diagnosed at a young age with a rare variant of glycogen storage disease type IV, Mark Bookman went on to distinguish himself in academia in both the United States and Japan.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Feb 19, 2024
New film honors life and legacy of disability pioneer Mark Bookman
By Eric Margolis
Free screenings of THE new documentary on Japan-based disability rights advocate Mark Bookman will be held around Tokyo on Feb. 24, 25 and 27.
Shiv Kumar (left) and Nirmal Singh say they are learning a lot about living and thriving in Japan while taking part in the Technical Intern Trainee Program. Their case, however, seems to be an exception to the norm.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 18, 2023
Beating the odds on Japan's controversial foreign trainee program
By Megha Wadhwa
Nirmal Singh and Shiv Kumar beat the odds on the Technical Intern Training Program, but luck shouldn't play such a key role in a government initiative.
Tokyo now boasts five different Quidditch teams, while universities in Osaka and Kyoto also play host to their own clubs.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Nov 4, 2023
'Accio broomstick!' Quidditch is back and open to everyone
By Shyam Bhardwa
From relatively humble beginnings, Quidditch has continued to grow in popularity across Japan.
Over four days in September, Japan Soca Weekend brought together the Tokyo area's Caribbean community for dance parties, outdoor blowouts and a crowning Carnival festival on a racetrack in Chiba.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Oct 10, 2023
‘Peak happiness’ at the first Japan Caribbean Carnival
By Samantha Mythen
For Japan’s Caribbean community, Carnival provides a deep sense of community and offers a cure for homesickness.

17-year-old girl found dead in Osaka hotel room was strangled
A security camera footage shows a 17-year-old girl and a man entering a hotel in the city of Osaka on Saturday. She was found dead in the hotel room several hours later.
Ban on dual nationality is constitutional, Fukuoka High Court rules
Yuri Kondo (center), who filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Japan's ban on dual nationality, speaks at a news conference in the city of Fukuoka in December 2023.
Nihon Hidankyo awarded Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to achieve nuclear-free world
Toshiyuki Mimaki, the co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, speaks at an event held in November at United Nations headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the second meeting of state parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Nobel prize is a warning to a world on the nuclear brink
The remains of the Prefectural Industry Promotion Building after the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima in September 1945.
Dodgers drop Padres in historic Japanese pitchers' duel to advance in MLB playoffs
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto pumps his fist during the fourth inning of Friday's series-clinching win over the Padres at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Bank of Japan vows better messaging to avoid more market turmoil
The Bank of Japan's surprise rate increase on July 31 led to Japanese stocks plummeting into bear-market territory, with the benchmark 225-issue Nikkei average falling 12.4% on Aug. 5 alone.
Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! takes its final bow
Annual festival Peter Barakan’s Live Magic! was born a decade ago when Barakan (left) decided to create a platform to share his love of roots music, which he attributes to growing up in 1960s England.
Spate of sumo tour dropouts highlights need to rethink wrestlers' health
Shonannoumi hits the dirt at the hands of Kotozakura during a bout in Tokyo in May. Shonannoumi is among the many top wrestlers who have dropped out of this month's regional tour due to injury.
Japan pushes fossil fuel tech in Asia carbon neutrality initiative
Coal-fired power plants in Bataan, the Philippines, in June 2023. A third of the 158 agreements signed under the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community are linked to fossil fuel technologies, a recent study by a climate research group has found.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Sasakawa works for a sustainable blue economy
Sasakawa works for a sustainable blue economy

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