November 07, 2025

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COMMUNITY

Voices

James Reynolds, a video producer and professional stormchaser, sets up his equipment to document Typhoon Jebi in 2018.

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

Sep 22, 2025

When a typhoon isn’t really a typhoon, I’ll be there to tell you about it

By Daniel Traylor

The nomenclature and strict definition of what constitutes a typhoon are not as straightforward as most people might think.

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

By Swastika Jajoo

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

Francisco Villarreal moved to Japan in 2014 to attend a teacher training program and has forged deep ties to the kindergarten in Tokyo's Asakusa district where he has worked since 2018.

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

Aug 11, 2025

Kindred spirits, kindergarten connections: From Buenos Aires to east Tokyo

By Francisco J. Villarreal

An Argentinian teacher finds echoes of his hometown in the working-class neighborhoods of eastern Tokyo.

For non-native speakers of the language, diving into Japanese books on a whim might just broaden your horizons and offer a fresh perspective on any topic imaginable.

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

Jun 30, 2025

Japanese language is your gateway to seeing the world anew

By Damian Flanagan

Whether you want to learn about regional geopolitics or the history of cheese, reading Japanese books can offer a whole world of new perspectives for non-native speakers.

Trishit Banerjee moved to Japan in 2015, embarking on an academic and personal journey that taught him lessons about the collective and the individual.

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

Jun 23, 2025

A singular ensemble: Indian food, science and Fukushima

By Trishit Banerjee

After moving to Sendai for college, an Indian student began thinking about the dynamic between the individual and the ensemble — in food, science and society.

Drawn to tea ceremony while volunteering at a Japanese garden in Phoenix, Arizona, Michele Laudig (right) came to learn a “common language of movement and ritual” that brought her into new communities in New York City and Tokyo.

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

May 26, 2025

A moving meditation: Finding serenity in tea ceremony across space and time

By Michele Laudig

After an American writer ventured into the world of tea ceremony, its lessons transformed her relationship to Japan and brought her into communities bonded by movement and ritual.

Megumi Koiwai (left) found refuge in writing and storytelling that allowed her to reconcile with her heritage and upbringing.

COMMUNITY / Voices

Mar 24, 2025

A community of stories: Making space for reflection and dialogue in Tokyo and beyond

By Megumi Koiwai

Through conversations with an international writing workshop, a writer of mixed heritage finds steadier footing and a sense of self.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.

The second life of Japan's net cafes

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

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