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July 12, 2025
 

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EXPATS

Johan Leutwiler checks a sword he made at his workshop studio in the Kui district of Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 24, 2025
Japan's first foreign swordsmith opens workshop in Hiroshima Prefecture
Johan Leutwiler hopes to promote the charm of Japanese swords following the completion of his five-year apprenticeship.
The Fukuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters. Between October 2022 and late September 2023, a Chinese couple developed about 2,300 square meters of land owned by 21 individuals without their consent and opened a campsite, according to police.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2025
Chinese couple arrested for opening campsite at historic Fukuoka ruins
A city official first spotted prefab huts erected at the castle ruins around October 2022 and demanded their removal, but the couple refused to comply, according to police.
Okayama goalkeeper Svend Brodersen reaches for the ball against Urawa's Thiago Santana (front) at Saitama Stadium on March 8.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 18, 2025
Manga-loving German goalkeeper finds peace, and himself, in Japan
Svend Brodersen moved to Japan in 2021 and now plays for top-tier J. League side Fagiano Okayama, but he admits that initially he felt like he was "on another planet."
Sources say a hui suo — a private club, which in Japan caters mainly to Chinese businesspeople — will soon open on the upper floors of the Moutai Building in the Ginza district of Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 16, 2025
Private clubs quietly open in Tokyo for free-spending Chinese businesspeople
With the economy weak in China and opportunities harder to come by there, more wealthy individuals have been flocking to Japan.
Artist Adrian Steckeweh 3-D prints otherworldly clothes and accessories for himself, in a way augmenting his reality with tangible objects.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 16, 2025
Augmented reality artist Omega C navigates a precarious scene for XR art
Just this year, XR art featured heavily in the digital art festival Dig Shibuya and is the focus of the ongoing “Machine Love” exhibition at Mori Art Museum.
Professor Hu Shiyun of Kobe Gakuin University
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2025
Chinese professor returns to Japan after going missing in China
It is not known whether Hu Shiyun, who went missing after entering China in summer 2023, had been detained by Chinese authorities.
A Vietnamese worker harvests tomatoes at a farm in the city of Asahi, Chiba Prefecture, in 2018.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025
Amid labor shortage, Japan approves guidelines to upskill foreign workers
The new program aims to nurture trainees into skilled workers to motivate them to remain in the country.
Forbidden from seeing friends and forced to devote herself to housework, Reina (whose name has been changed), a 37-year-old Filipino national living in the city of Nagoya, became socially isolated.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2025
Foreign single mothers struggle with language barriers and visas
Experts are urging the government to create a safer environment where these women can continue living in Japan without fear.
Lawyers advising in a racial profiling case speak during a news conference on Wednesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 26, 2025
About 70% of foreign nationals questioned by police on the streets: survey
The survey was believed to be the first conducted comparing police questioning between foreign nationals and Japanese on the issue.
David Moreton, a former professor at Tokushima University, originally came to Japan as a missionary in 1988. He is now one of the world’s foremost experts on the Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Feb 24, 2025
How a Canadian missionary found spiritual transformation in Shikoku
David Moreton has devoted decades to researching southern Japan’s famed 88-temple pilgrimage, established by influential monk Kobo Daishi.
Mike Sunda at a concert in Haikou, China
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 20, 2025
Mike Sunda: ‘Creative production comes with a bigger responsibility than ever before’
Creative strategist Mike Sunda talks about his influences and the filming of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Mamushi” music video.
No South American fare is complete without empanadas, one of the traditional recipes in Kiera Wright-Ruiz's cookbook.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 16, 2025
Chewing on race, culture and 'okonomiyaki' quesadillas
Kiera Wright-Ruiz’s debut cookbook serves up deep thoughts on her biracial heritage alongside delicious recipes.
After starting out as a games journalist, John Davis found opportunities in marketing and consulting that led him to work in the Japanese gaming industry.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 8, 2025
John Davis: ‘At its core, indie is about creative freedom’
The co-founder of BitSummit, Japan’s biggest indie gaming showcase, shares how he pivoted from journalism to gaming after moving here.
The government plans to allow foreign nationals to engage in home care services, a sector struggling with a labor shortage.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2025
Japan looks to allow foreign nationals to engage in home care services
Non-Japanese would be allowed to work in the sector if they meet certain conditions, such as receiving training.
Billed as a “cultural bridge that connects Japan and Vietnam,” Tet Viet Saitama drew tens of thousands of attendees from across the Kanto region.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 2, 2025
Home away from home: My first time at a Tet festival in Japan
A longtime resident of Japan attends Saitama’s first public celebration of Vietnam’s most important holiday.
Brian Hutto runs Craft Sake Shoten, a Yokohama shop he calls a hangout for 'real sake enthusiasts.'
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Feb 2, 2025
Sipping down the rabbit hole at Craft Sake Shoten
A chance encounter with sake evangelist John Gauntner led Brian Hutto to reinvent himself with sake as his new focus.
The Japanese government is considering allowing foreign workers under its specified skilled worker program to take orders and serve and cook food at restaurants within inns and hotels.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2025
Japan to ease foreign worker rules for hotel restaurants
The government is considering allowing foreign workers under the program to take orders and serve and cook food at restaurants at inns and hotels.
The Immigration Services Agency says it is unclear whether application fee price hikes will lead to shorter processing times, but would “continue its efforts to improve efficiency to minimize any inconvenience to applicants.”
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2025
Japan's immigration processing fees to rise starting April 1
The Immigration Services Agency has cited rising prices and personnel costs for its first price hikes — of as much as 50% — in over four decades.
A Japanese class at a job placement company in Hanoi in 2022. The number of foreign workers in Japan hit a record high in 2024.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2025
Japan’s foreign workforce hits fresh record as labor crisis deepens
Japan had a record 2.3 million foreign workers as of October 2024, marking a 12.4% increase from the previous year.
Rodgers (right) was a longtime managing editor of Kyoto Journal and, alongside colleagues like Susan Pavloska (left) and John Einarsen (center), helped make it one of Japan’s leading English-language publications.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 27, 2025
Ken Rodgers, a fixture of the Kyoto literary scene, dies at 72
Hailing from Australia, Rodgers made a home and community for himself in Japan’s ancient capital across more than four decades.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
Air India crash report to offer peek into last seconds
Members of the Indian Army's engineering arm prepare to remove the wreckage of an Air India aircraft in Ahmedabad on June 14.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.
NGOs condemn rise in anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of Upper House vote
Sanseito head Sohei Kamiya holds a board that reads "Japanese First" in Tokyo on July 2. In a joint statement on Tuesday, eight human rights nongovernmental organizations described the far-right party's stance as "hate speech."
Japanese dancers find a home abroad at Houston Ballet
“Giselle” lead Yuriko Kajiya (center), performing with Connor Walsh as Albrecht, is one of six Japanese dancers at Houston Ballet.
From the Abes to the Ohtanis: How siblings shape athletic development
Olympic judoka Uta Abe (second from left) and Hifumi Abe (second from right) with their brother Yuichiro (center) and their parents. “I’m always consciously trying to be a good older brother,” Yuichiro said.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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