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"The Ones Left Behind" documents the successes and struggles of single mothers in Japan.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 2, 2023

Why single mothers in Japan have been left behind

Filmmaker Rionne McAvoy joins us to discuss the hidden poverty present in one of the world’s richest nations.
Blair Masters and Talisker Scott Hunter pose for a photo with their kei truck, nicknamed “KT,” outside Ebisu Circuit in Fukushima Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Nov 6, 2023

The little truck that could: A fresh way to tour Japan's north

Travelers have documented almost every corner of Japan. Perhaps a new kind of adventure would be doing those same journeys by different means.
Milk Talk members Yuqi Shinohara (left), who goes by the moniker Q.i, and Miles Ungar officially started their electro-boogie project in 2019.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 17, 2023

Milk Talk's deliciously funky mix of sweet and sour

The duo turns bottled-up feelings into electro-boogie delights on their debut album.
Hayao Miyazaki came out of retirement this year with “The Boy and the Heron,” which opened to critical acclaim and has so far earned ¥8.56 billion — a good showing but not enough to take the top spot at the box office for the year.
CULTURE / Film / 2023 in Review
Nov 30, 2023

The year that defined the post-Miyazaki era

The success of “Oshi no Ko,” “Detective Conan” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” proved that anime is the mainstream now.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 1, 2023

Japan’s 2023 buzzword of the year is all about winning

A.R.E — based on the Japanese word “are” (“that”) — took the top spot, after the Hanshin Tigers popularized the term as an indirect reference to victory.
New Year's celebrations in Japan and Western countries can differ wildly, but Tokyo offers plenty of ways for you to ring in 2024 in any way you prefer.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 9, 2023

A Tokyoite’s guide to a Western-style New Year’s Eve

Typically, Ōmisoka (New Year’s Eve) is a family affair — even in the global metropolis that is Tokyo.
Seihan Mori, chief priest of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, writes "zei" (taxes), which was chosen on Tuesday as the kanji of the year.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2023

Talk of taxes spurs choice for Japan’s kanji of the year

The choice came as tax hikes and cuts were heavily covered in the news and discussed among policymakers.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 15, 2023

Despite a taxing year, 2023's top kanji still draws questions

In a year of major crises around the world, Japanese voters pick the kanji for "zei," meaning "tax," based on a plan yet to be implemented.
Not only is Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” a billion-dollar blockbuster, it’s also a fun movie that’s full of heart.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 6, 2024

They can’t all be nominated for best picture, can they?

It’s a very competitive year for the top Oscar. With precursor awards like the Golden Globes coming soon, here’s what may make the cut.
Some 5 million people globally die of causes related to air pollution from fossil fuels each year and climate change has a huge impact on people's health and psychological well-being.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 24, 2024

We’re finally recognizing climate change’s mental health toll

Climate change's impact on health, including psychological well-being, is overwhelming. COP28 took stock of this and put youth at the center of discussions like never before.
Ground Self-Defense Force troops participate in a joint military drill and demonstration with the U.S., British, Canadian, German and other countries' militaries in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, on Jan. 7.
COMMENTARY / Japan / EXPLAINER
Feb 5, 2024

The Rosetta Stone to decipher Japan's new security deals

Japan has already signed several agreements this year that, together with previous ones, form a dense web of security pacts — one worth untangling.
Japan is the only country with a law requiring married couples to adopt the same surname. In 95% of cases, it is women who take their husband's name.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 7, 2024

The land where single surnames are the only option

The business lobby recently joined calls for Japan to accept separate surnames after marriage. What, then, is standing in the way of change? Politics.
In the quest for immortality, some researchers believe mind uploading will be our ticket to an eternal existence.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 8, 2024

Japan’s take on immortality; problems in Palworld

As scientists and technologists attempt to tackle the problem of aging and death, we discuss Japanese ideas about immortality.
Taylor Swift kicked off her four-night stint at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday while Lionel Messi played at the Japan National Stadium, just a few kilometers away.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 9, 2024

The Taylor Swift and Messi moment shows Tokyo is back

On Wednesday, Swift and Messi wowed their respective fans, just 5 km away from each other. Their overlap in Tokyo is proof of the city's great resurgence.
Fans of virtual YouTuber Selen Tatsuki and VTubers in general took to social media to express their outrage over major agency Nijisanji terminating Tatsuki’s contract.
LIFE / Digital / Japan Pulse
Feb 16, 2024

High-profile shakeups prompt scrutiny of virtual YouTuber industry

As VTubers enter a new era defined by prestige, Selen Tatsuki and Mikeneko's recent dramas demonstrate how complicated getting famous can be.
An in-house design by Yamagiwa, the Sui drop-shaped light uses traditional Japanese chōchin lantern techniques and is made with Mino washi paper.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Feb 17, 2024

Japan-made standouts from one of Paris' biggest design fairs

Maison & Objet is now such a popular event that it is often nicknamed the Paris Fashion Week of the interior design industry.
The LDP's Takuo Komori stepped down from his post as parliamentary vice minister for internal affairs after it was revealed he had underreported political funds.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 21, 2024

Will the LDP funding scandal change Japanese politics?

What can we learn from the LDP funding scandal? One thing is certain: The saga fits a pattern that is anything but unseen in Japanese politics.
Yasuhiro Otomo and Miku Narisawa during one of Odyssey Nature Japan's educational fishing programs.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 22, 2024

A young 3/11 survivor and her vow to protect the ocean

At 12, Miku Narisawa experienced a magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed her home. Now she is working to protect it.
An event for female coders in New York in 2013. Women’s full participation is key to ensure technologies like AI help bridge the gender gap.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 2024

Now is our chance to govern AI for women’s empowerment

The pace of AI development may seem relentless, but there's still time to create safeguards to ensure that innovation doesn't perpetuate gender inequality.
Customers make a toast at an eatery in Tokyo. Many view Japan’s economy as being on the rise, and that of regional powerhouse China as declining. But how accurate is this narrative?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 18, 2024

Japan is back, China is over. The trouble with narratives.

The idea that Japan and China's roles have flipped, with the former on the rise and the latter in decline, obfuscates important facts and trends.
Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin,” once the victim of high waves that dragged it into the sea, sits at the end of a pier on the south side of Naoshima.
CULTURE / Art / Longform
Apr 6, 2024

Why is the most exciting art in Japan so hard to get to?

Japan has a unique movement of public art projects and festivals that are a slog to get to — by design. A writer examines the country's “inconvenient art."
Jera's thermal power station in Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture, recently started co-firing coal with 20% of ammonia, a technology supported by the government's "green transformation," or GX, policy.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 7, 2024

Is Japan’s green transformation investing in the past or future?

Japan issued its first green transformation bonds, but the policy breathes new life into fossil fuel-based projects rather than pulling the plug on them.
In one of the biggest changes to the alliance in decades, U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are expected to agree on revamping the U.S. military’s command in Japan to help strengthen operational planning with the Self-Defense Forces.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 8, 2024

At Biden-Kishida summit, tech tie-ups are as important as defense deals

The two leaders are also expected to announce boosted cooperation on supply chains and cutting-edge technologies, all with an eye on China.
Summer averages in eastern Hokkaido float in the high teens and low 20s, not necessitating widespread air conditioning usage in homes and businesses.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 12, 2024

Fear the impending heat? Escape to Kushiro, the land of no summer.

A once mighty fishing port, Kushiro now aims to capture the hearts of tourists seeking escape from sweltering urban jungles for a misty paradise.
Yoasobi member Ayase (far left) joins U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a toast during a state dinner at the White House on Wednesday.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 12, 2024

A brief history of J-pop stars meeting U.S. presidents

Yoasobi's presence at the White House state dinner catapults the duo to a new strata. It also says a lot about what sound currently rules Japanese music.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (right), seen here meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, has made strengthening ties with Tokyo one of his foreign policy priorities.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2024

A humbled Yoon must future-proof Seoul’s alliances

Despite Yoon Suk-yeol's weak grip on South Korea's government after his electoral defeat, he can still do a lot to ensure his foreign policy lives on.
A couple looks out onto the Fukuoka nightscape. Due to its distance from Tokyo and its close proximity to South Korea and China, professor Tomoya Mori believes that Fukuoka is one of the few metropolitan regions of Japan that will see some form of growth in the decades to come.
JAPAN / Society / Perspectives
May 20, 2024

Why half of Japan's cities are at risk of disappearing in 100 years

Professor Tomoya Mori believes depopulation will alter the urban landscape of Japan in an unexpected way.
“Daido Moriyama: A Retrospective,” currently exhibiting in Helsinki at The Finnish Museum of Photography’s K1 gallery, features 200 works, two video installations and some of the photographer’s rare photobooks and magazines.
CULTURE / Art
May 25, 2024

Daido Moriyama’s sweeping retrospective brings Tokyo streets to Helsinki

Local artists hope the Japanese photographer's raw approach inspires change in the way Finns view the medium.
The Japanese government updated its English education guidelines in 2017 to emphasize communication over grammar and memorization. Public school teachers are incredibly busy, however, which means schools haven’t been able to implement changes uniformly. Private and alternative schools are attempting to remedy this.
LIFE / Language / Longform
May 27, 2024

The language of opportunity: Bilingual education is on the rise in Japan

Stuck with a reputation for poor English, Japan is pushing its next generation to be bilingual. Privately run schools are seeing the benefits.
A woman walks past a television at a railway station in Seoul on Tuesday showing a news broadcast with NHK footage of a projectile that exploded into a fireball a day earlier, following Pyongyang's failed attempt to put a second spy satellite in orbit.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 28, 2024

Pyongyang’s fiery space-race failure cold comfort as more launches expected

The launch failure was also viewed as a possible symbolic success in being disruptive just as a rare summit involving Japan, South Korea and China was concluding.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan