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August 11, 2026
 

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Mai Yoshikawa
Through ¡°peace tours,¡± tour operator Sokoiko leads visitors through Hiroshima by electric bike, tracing the city¡¯s story from its tragic past to its postwar recovery.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 4, 2026
81 years on: Pedaling through Hiroshima¡¯s history on two wheels
¡°Peace tours¡± offer participants a glimpse of life in the city before, during and after the U.S atomic bombing of 1945.
Tomoko Sato, the chief of emergency medicine at Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital, brought her two children to the hospital so she could continue treating patients following the Kumamoto earthquake.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 3, 2026
A pressing question on the front lines in Kumamoto: Who cares for the caregivers?
Emergency doctor Tomoko Sato found herself torn between two urgent demands: caring for a surge of incoming patients and protecting her own children.
Kobe Kita Police Station honors local heroes Yuito Kuroishi (left), Ruito Nagai (center) and Sakutaro Akutagawa during an award ceremony on July 24.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Aug 2, 2026
¡®Hey Siri, call 119¡¯: How three kids proved a smartphone can be a lifeline
The way fifth-graders responded to a recent medical emergency in Kobe prompts questions over whether smartphones are a dangerous distraction or an essential safety tool.
Go, a 2-year-old Shiba Inu, remains missing following the earthquake in Kumamoto.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2026
Kumamoto rallies to reunite lost pets and provide refuge for animals
When natural disasters strike, pets are often among the most vulnerable and overlooked victims.
Miyako Kudo addresses an Osaka fertility clinic during a speaking engagement on understanding and supporting women without children.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 25, 2026
Out of the shadows: Japanese women building a life beyond motherhood
One woman is leading the charge to build a community where a life without children ¡ª whether by choice or circumstance ¡ª is an accepted social norm.
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 20, 2026
The 180-day locals: Life on Â鶹´«Ã½ digital nomad visa
Â鶹´«Ã½ small but growing ranks of digital nomads have embraced the opportunity to embed themselves in a Japanese life ¡ª and take advantage of a weak yen.
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 29, 2026
Inside Â鶹´«Ã½ rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
Beyond the paperwork and the language barrier, James Benstead says the hardest part about adopting in Japan was the waiting.
Yoichi Miura (third from left) now divides his time between his import business and guiding international visitors across Japan.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 23, 2026
Stepping up, not aside: Â鶹´«Ã½ retirement-age tour guides
The older guides ¡ª some driven by financial need, others by civic goodwill ¡ª reflect a changing concept of what later life can look like in graying Japan.
Dipu Tamang from Nepal is among more than 400,000 international students in Japan.
COMMUNITY
Jun 11, 2026
In Japan, Nepalese students navigate a growing study-to-work pathway
A growing stream of young people see the country less as a traditional study destination and more as a structured route into work and long-term opportunity.
Californians Ben and Ariella Jacoby, who married with Mount Fuji as their backdrop, are part of a growing trend of inbound weddings in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 8, 2026
Foreign couples are turning Japan into a wedding destination
Personal and cultural connections, as well as a weak yen, are driving more foreign couples to choose Japan to mark major life events.
Yawata Mayor Shoko Kawata recently announced that she will take maternity leave, making her the first sitting mayor in Japan to do so.
JAPAN / Politics
May 29, 2026
Meet the Japanese mayor seeking to normalize maternity leave in public office
Shoko Kawata discusses balancing pregnancy with her duties ¡ª and the reaction that followed her announcing she would take leave before and after childbirth.
The Children and Families Agency says language should not be a barrier to calling the 189 hotline.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 27, 2026
Built for speed: Inside Â鶹´«Ã½ child protection system
In Japan, sources such as schools, neighbors, and the 189 hotline all feed into a child protection system designed to surface potential risks early, even when certainty is low.
A father carries a child on a <i>mamachari</i> bicycle in September 2018. Parents say the new ¡°blue ticket¡± system has made them more mindful of the rules, but has also heightened concerns about child-seat use and children starting to cycle on their own.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
May 22, 2026
How Â鶹´«Ã½ new ¡®blue tickets¡¯ are putting cycling parents on edge
Parents say the new system has made them more mindful of the rules, but has also heightened concerns about child-seat use and children starting to cycle on their own.
Middle-distance runner Sherry Drury will follow the example of a growing number of Japanese athletes by moving to the U.S. for college and competing under the NCAA system.
MORE SPORTS / Athletics
May 21, 2026
Runner Sherry Drury looks to grow on and off track with move to U.S.
The teen says her decision to move aboard is about growth and broadening her horizons.
Akiko Hashiguchi is one of the few people in Japan to publicly share her personal experience with muri shinj¨± under her own name. She has since been involved in parents¡¯ support work and advocacy around developmental disorders.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
May 18, 2026
¡®There was no village¡¯: Â鶹´«Ã½ troubling pattern of family murder-suicides
In a society where asking for help is often difficult, many parents and caregivers are unsure where to turn. Sometimes, it leads to tragedy.
A signboard urging people to call the police if they have information on the whereabouts of Kaori Nomura, who went missing in 1991 at the age of 8, is seen in Yokohama in early April.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 6, 2026
The weight of not knowing: Â鶹´«Ã½ long-missing children
In recent years, the number of children under 10 reported missing in Japan has hovered between 1,000 and 1,200 annually.
Each winter, countless tourists flock to Japan&#039;s famous snow-covered mountains, but a lack of top-down regulation on the country&#039;s outdoor sports industry can make certain activities unnecessarily risky.
LIFE / Travel
May 2, 2026
For tourists in Â鶹´«Ã½ outdoor sports scene, safety is not guaranteed
Recent data suggests accidents involving foreign tourists are disproportionately represented in certain high-risk activities.
Sports dietitian Yuka Sanui works behind the scenes to ensure Blue Jays players get the most out of their bodies when they step on the field.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 27, 2026
The Japanese dietitian who keeps the Blue Jays¡¯ engines running
Japanese dietitian Yuka Sanui is responsible for helping to keep the Blue Jays players in peak condition before games.
Everett Hopkin, second from left, marches on the field with his Yamauchi Spirits teammates before a competition.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 3, 2026
Unifying power of Japanese baseball brings together people from all walks of life
In Japanese baseball, everyone belongs.
Tomoko Namba, founder and executive chair of DeNA, speaks during an interview at the company's headquarters in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in January.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 22, 2026
The Yokohama DeNA BayStars¡¯ No. 1 fan also happens to be the owner
Tomoko Namba, the only female owner of an NPB team and affectionately known as ¡°Namba Mama¡± to BayStars fans, has had a lifelong love affair with baseball.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital&#039;s largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn&#039;t just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it&#039;s an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
How Â鶹´«Ã½ racehorses find second careers away from the track
TCC Therapy Park is supported financially by racing organizations as well as donations from members of the public.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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