Crime & Legal Dec 30, 2021
The police believe the 47-year-old woman attempted to commit murder-suicide involving herself, her son and her 7-year-old daughter.
National / Crime & Legal Dec 29, 2021
Mother questioned by police after boy, 9, dies in apparent fall from Tokyo hotel
Police said an officer found the child lying on the ground on the hotel's premises in Kabukicho, Shinjuku Ward, after hearing a loud noise at around 7 a.m.
National / Social Issues Nov 11, 2021
The Metropolitan Police Department has helped more than 60 women in Tokyo through its initiative in the past year.
Books May 2, 2021
‘Tokyo Junkie’: Robert Whiting recounts a lifelong addiction to his adopted city
by Mark Schreiber
The author and longtime Japan resident tackles his hardest writing project ever — “interviewing himself” for a memoir on his life, the changing urban landscape and, of course, baseball.
Culture Aug 21, 2020
While workers have been lambasted over the spread of COVID-19, some have found solace in the art of tanka.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Aug 1, 2020
Kabukicho host clubs under fire for spreading coronavirus
by Mark Schreiber
Some media outlets are weighing the pros and cons of mounting an actual "blockade" of Tokyo's well-known entertainment district.
National Jul 15, 2020
Tokyo enlists nightclub workers for Q&A-style videos to fight coronavirus
by Chang-ran Kim
Alarmed by a spike in infections in Tokyo's nightlife districts, the metropolitan government has released educational videos in the form of a Q&A between nightclub hosts, a hostess and a doctor, hoping to stem the spread of the outbreak. "What kind of symptoms can a ...
National Jun 17, 2020
Host and hostess bars in Japan scramble to adjust to COVID-19 reality
by Tomohiro Osaki
The industry faces an intensifying public backlash after reports emerged that a recent spike in cases stemmed largely from nighttime entertainment districts.
National Jun 9, 2020
Nightlife districts demonized over infection fears while grappling with coronavirus impacts
by Tomohiro Osaki
Heated media coverage has zeroed in on Kabukicho, catapulting the area to a new level of notoriety.
National / Social Issues Apr 16, 2020
Stay-home request over virus hits girls in Japan with no place to go
The spread of the novel coronavirus and a government request that the public refrain from going outside has added to the predicament of many teenage girls in Japan who have left home due to abuse, poverty or other reasons. "We see fewer girls in town, ...
Lifestyle Jan 13, 2020
Japan's rockin' pastor: Counseling those living on a prayer
by Alex K.T. Martin
No ordinary pastor, Kazuhiro Sekino wields a bass guitar like a rock star to bring his congregation together.
National / Media | DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN Oct 4, 2019
Rip-off bars are taking advantage of Japan's tourism boom
by Jake Adelstein
With the number of foreign tourists to Japan increasing by the year, authorities are warning visitors to steer clear of so-called rip-off bars. Such establishments have been a problem for a number of years but police are no closer to being able to shut them ...