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September 14, 2025
 

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COMMUNITY

Our Lives

Our Lives
How-tos
Issues
Voices
Melos Han-Tani is a game designer of eclectic interests whose upcoming releases, Angeline Era and Danchi Days, are set in alternate-history Ireland and a public housing complex in Japan, respectively.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Melos Han-Tani: ‘Figuring out what you value is valuable for any artist’
A designer, programmer and composer, Han-Tani draws inspiration from a wide range of sources and channels his creativity through games, music and writing.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Gentle care is the key to Cymbal’s heart
A little patience will go a long way with 5-year-old Cymbal, a shy cat with distinctive markings that was rescued earlier this year.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Canadian-born politician tackles Ibaraki’s issues big and small
After being elected to four terms in the Tsukuba Municipal Assembly, Jon Heese now serves as a prefectural assemblyman — and one of Ibaraki Prefecture’s biggest cheerleaders.
Hampen hails from Tokushima, Shikoku, and is named after the fish paste specialty that the region is known for.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Sep 3, 2025
Smiley, spirited Hampen will run into your arms
This 7-year-old dog from Tokushima is eager for human companionship and loves to go on walks.
Jesse Kirkwood is part of a vibrant field of translators who have nurtured what might be called a “post-Murakami era of Japanese literature and translation,” one book at a time.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 29, 2025
Jesse Kirkwood: ‘Languages are entire cultural universes with all sorts of baggage’
By Kris Kosaka
The Japanese-English literary translator reflects on catching the recent wave of “post-Murakami” fiction and how he balances reading for work versus pleasure.
Despite coming from a difficult background that resulted in behavioral issues, Tosca has turned a new leaf with his new owners in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Aug 28, 2025
Tosca turns a new leaf in a new home
A dog with a troubled past has finally found his way to a loving family.
Seri Yanai and Daniel Wishes founded the shadow puppetry company Mochinosha in 2012 when they were students at the London School of Puppetry.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 22, 2025
Seri Yanai: ‘We mix modern and analog to create something new’
By Ayako Nakano
The co-founder of Mochinosha, a shadow puppetry company based in Saitama Prefecture, talks about her journey to the stage and her artistic inspirations.
In honor of his longstanding ties and contributions to Japan's business, legal and nonprofit communities, Carl J. Green was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2018.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Aug 20, 2025
Carl J. Green, mentor to a generation of ‘Japan hands,’ dies at 85
By Matthew Goodman
A lawyer and scholar with deep ties to Tokyo’s business and legal communities, Green opened the Ford Foundation’s Tokyo office.
Born in 2012, Lynx has a striking appearance with his golden eyes and steel-gray coat.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Aug 20, 2025
Handsome cat looking for brighter days ahead
Lynx, born in 2012, may seem shy at first, but has proven himself to be a sweet cat full of affection.
Born in 2011, Ginger is a medium-size poodle that acts about half his age.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Aug 13, 2025
Fluffy poodle Ginger, forever young at heart
This spirited dog is full of sugar and spice for those who treat him nice.

Japan's cutting-edge railgun successfully strikes target vessel
The Defense Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) conducted a ship-board railgun shooting test from June to early July this year with the support of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens?
Convenience stores are a fixture of Japanese life and 7-Eleven, a chain that began in the U.S. in 1927, opened its first store in Japan in 1974 — and then became wholly Japanese-owned in 2005 through parent company Seven & I Holdings.
‘Fairytale’ Shirakawago ranked one of the world’s most beautiful villages
Forbes and Unforgettable Travel Company have ranked Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture as Asia's most beautiful village.
People rush to make furusato nozei donations ahead of tighter rules
A booth from the town of Betsukai in Hokkaido at an Amazon Japan furusato nо̄zei promotion event, on Sept. 5 in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Aging Japan’s centenarian population nears 100,000
Shigeko Kagawa, Japan's oldest person at 114, in Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture, on July 30
‘Fairytale’ Shirakawago ranked one of the world’s most beautiful villages
Forbes and Unforgettable Travel Company have ranked Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture as Asia's most beautiful village.
Aging Japan’s centenarian population nears 100,000
Shigeko Kagawa, Japan's oldest person at 114, in Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture, on July 30
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.
Shizuoka farmers fight to preserve sustainable tea method that’s steeped in tradition
As of August 2024, the number of confirmed chagusaba farmers had fallen to 302, just over half the 582 reported in 2015, according to the Shizuoka Chagusaba Farming Method Promotion Council.

Podcast

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

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight
By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Tokyo Gas lights the way to carbon neutrality
Tokyo Gas lights the way to carbon neutrality

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