Tag - cats

 
 

CATS

The Kumamoto Municipal Government building in the city of Kumamoto
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2025
Around 100 dead cats found at woman's home in Japan
City officials and animal rights volunteers inspected the house twice, before launching a full search and rescue mission.
Ten-year-old Cupcake lost her home suddenly when her owner was hospitalized and took some time to adjust to her new circumstances.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
May 23, 2025
Tuxedo cat Cupcake is a special treat
At 10 years old, this cat is settled in her ways but shows sweetness over time.
A tricolored calico cat (left) and a tortoiseshell cat. A Japanese research team has discovered a gene that determines the fur color patterns of the two breeds of cats.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 16, 2025
Japan team finds gene that determines calico cats' color patterns
Researchers led by Kyushu University professor Hiroyuki Sasaki found that the coloring was decided by the ARHGAP36 gene on the X chromosome.
Piccolo is an excitable fellow with great enthusiasm for all activities.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Apr 24, 2025
A quirky cat with a larger-than-life personality
Piccolo is only 8 months old, but brings incredible energy and exuberance wherever he goes.
Amarone was taken in from the streets and has decided to give humans a chance — especially when they come bearing food.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Apr 4, 2025
Meet the cool cat with a roguish mustache
After a life on the streets, amiable Amarone is ready for a place to call home.
Saffron was found without food or water in a home where his owner had passed away.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Mar 21, 2025
A shy cat looking for a new start
After being rescued from tough circumstances, Saffron is gradually coming out of his shell again.
Researchers from Anicom Specialty Medical Institute, the National Institute of Genetics and Kazusa DNA Research Institute decoded the genome of American Shorthair cats and published the results in an article last October.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 18, 2025
Japanese researchers set Guinness record for cat genome
Researchers decoded the genome of American shorthair cats and published the results.
Since arriving at ARK as a nervous kitten, Donut has really grown into herself and opened up to people.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Feb 27, 2025
Red tabby Donut is full of sweet energy
Always having a good time, Donut is eager for attention — and food.
Cat-related sweets sold by 7-Eleven in Tokyo. Employees of 7-Eleven have helped develop 23 types of cat-related products this year, compared with just five last year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 21, 2025
Japan's Cat Day sees companies capitalize on 'a-meow-zing' economic boon
This year, products and services related to cats are estimated to generate ¥414.50 billion more than last year.
“Mornings Without Mii,” Mayumi Inaba’s 1999 memoir, charts the course of the author’s 20-year relationship with her calico cat, Mii.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 16, 2025
'Mornings Without Mii': A cozy cat memoir that gets down in the muck
Mayumi Inaba’s 1999 memoir charts the course of the author’s 20-year relationship with her calico cat, Mii.
Timid though he may be at first, Tangelo warms up quickly and shows an eagerness for human companionship.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Feb 14, 2025
Tangelo the cat is oh so sweet
This 10-year-old feline is yearning for love and attention from a warmhearted soul.
Though he comes from a troubled home, Bach is a sweet fellow who loves to play.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Jan 24, 2025
Bach the bobtail will warm your lap and heart
This tuxedo cat loves to play with toys, but is just as happy taking it easy.
When not zipping around, Bingo loves to cuddle and even play games on the smartphone.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Jan 9, 2025
And Bingo was her name-o
Since finding each other at an adoption fair, Tara Podias and Bingo have become inseparable.
Cats sit on steps at Grazing Plains Farm in Newton, Kansas, in May. Researchers are keeping a close eye on the mounting cases of bird flu infections in cats.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 28, 2024
New bird flu mutation discovered in U.S. as cat infections cause alarm
Several experts cautioned that it was too early to determine whether these changes would make the virus more transmissible or more severe in people.
Jolene used to be so scared of humans, but has grown a lot calmer over time.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Dec 19, 2024
A green-eyed cutie who loves to eat
Jolene used to be terribly scared of humans, but she’s considerably calmer now — especially when it’s mealtime.
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
LIFE / Digital / Japan Pulse
Dec 17, 2024
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
Cat memes continued to thrive and evolve in 2024. In Japan, they're not just for jokes — they’re for storytelling, venting and a little therapy.
Masayo Ishimaru, the head of volunteer group Tanpopo no Sato, cuddles cats rescued from a pet hoarder, in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, in September.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 4, 2024
Local governments tighten rules on pet ownership as hoarding persists
Municipalities are introducing mandatory reporting requirements for owners of large numbers of pets as well as fines for non-compliance.
Rossini No. 4
COMMUNITY / ADOPT ME!
Dec 2, 2024
Meet the tuxedo cat named after an opera maestro
Another handsome cat in ARK’s long line of operatic felines, 8-year-old Rossini comes with his own furry self-cleaning black-and-white tuxedo.
The grey tabby cat Dorayaki is timid and cautious, but a gentle and patient person will certainly gain his trust over time.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Nov 18, 2024
Scaredy-cat looking for his safe place
Someone gentle, caring and patient would be the best fit to help this poor thing overcome the fears from his past.
In recent years, anglophone publishers have perked up to the potential of “healing fiction,” driven by a healthy appetite for East Asian literature. Japan figures prominently in this literary landscape, and a fondness for felines in the "iyashikei" (healing type) genre has proven commercially viable abroad.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 2, 2024
Cat companions and the 'healing fiction' boom
Japan's "iyashikei" (healing type) cultural products are gaining audiences, and non-Japanese readers are craving cozy feline literature in translation.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic