Environment Jul 13, 2019
Hive of activity: Tapping into the buzz of backyard beekeeping in Japan
by John Spiri
The importance of bees to Japan's agricultural sector certainly isn't lost on domestic hobbyists.
Lifestyle Jul 6, 2019
by Andrew McKirdy
The art of dressing up as characters from anime, manga, video games or TV shows has evolved into a global phenomenon.
Environment Jun 29, 2019
by Daniel Traylor
James Reynolds has his eyes on his camera's viewfinder, but also on the debris from a broken roof that's darting about in the wind as Typhoon Jebi leaves its mark on the city of Gobo, Wakayama Prefecture, in September 2018. The peak of the storm ...
Lifestyle Jun 22, 2019
Blazing a trail in Japan's mountains
by Pauline Kitamura
It wasn't so long ago that trail running was considered to be something only nature geeks did in their spare time. I mean, who in their right mind would want to run up a mountain? Cue the sound of crickets chirping ... Things have changed ...
Lifestyle Jun 15, 2019
Departure melodies: Celebrating the jingles' contribution to the rail experience in Japan
by Russell Thomas
Like the ubiquitous neon signs and abundant convenience stores scattered throughout Tokyo, departure melodies at train stations are probably something many residents don't give much thought to as they travel around the city each day. And yet so much thought has been put into the ...
Lifestyle Jun 8, 2019
Stranger things: Weird ways to get festive in Japan
by Alex K.T. Martin
Men in straw capes wearing ferocious horned masks with gleaming eyes and long, pointed fangs stare down at a group of reporters. Others donning masks of a devil, monkey and a long-nosed tengu birdman squat as they pose for photographs during a news conference ...
Lifestyle Jun 1, 2019
The prison inside: Japan's hikikomori lack relationships, not physical spaces
by Andrew McKirdy
Fifty-three-year-old Kenji Yamase doesn't fit the traditional image of a hikikomori, but then perceptions of Japan's social recluses are changing. "People think of hikikomori as being lazy young people with personality problems who stay in their rooms all the time playing video games," says Yamase, ...
Environment May 25, 2019
by Alex K.T. Martin
It was around 3 p.m. on a chilly day in December. The sky was overcast and the scent of rain hung in the air when Rina Kambayashi happened upon a creature she had never seen before. Opening the front door to her family's gracefully ...
Lifestyle May 18, 2019
Shifting landscapes: The state of traditional Japanese gardens
by Stephen Mansfield
My neighbor's garden is a wonder to behold. Where you might expect to find trim box hedges, bamboo fences, subtle rock arrangements, junipers, conifers and pine, there are garden gnomes, an ornamental concrete wheelbarrow, pots of begonia, hanging baskets of pansies and an iron ...
Environment May 11, 2019
Reading the air: Tokyo still has work to do on air pollution
by Tim Hornyak
There are days when Makiko Ishikawa can barely breathe. Indeed, the 62-year-old Tokyoite has been short of breath for decades. In the early 1970s, she began feeling the effects of the miasma of vehicle exhaust along Shin-Ome Road, which ran by her home in ...
National / Politics May 8, 2019
Support act: Behind every Japanese prime minister is a fascinating first lady
by Andrew McKirdy
When Chizuko Obuchi's husband, Keizo, became prime minister of Japan in July 1998 and the couple moved into the official residence, she was taken aback by what she found. "People from overseas might be surprised to hear it, but there was absolutely no one and ...
National / History | Defining the Heisei Era Apr 29, 2019
Defining the Heisei Era: Just how peaceful were the past 30 years?
by Rob Gilhooly
Asked what characteristics best summed up the Heisei Era (1989-2019), 79 percent of Japanese people thought it would be best remembered as being “peaceful and without war.”