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August 11, 2026
 

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COMMUNITY

Our Lives
How-tos
Issues
Voices
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
By Yumi Wijers-Hasegawa
The question can be a difficult one for many, particularly those with religious beliefs that might not conform with how death is traditionally handled in Japan.
Volunteer Vicky Parthasarathy (right) believes that people from various cultures can understand each other better through food.
COMMUNITY
This children¡¯s cafeteria in Shikoku serves up free meals and global perspectives
By Jacob Meyer
As immigration becomes an increasingly contentious issue in Japan, a children¡¯s cafeteria in Shikoku is bridging cultural gaps, one hot meal at a time.
Myanmar national Nyan Linn, who works at a Lawson outlet in Tokyo¡¯s Shinagawa Ward, is one of over 110,000 foreign workers employed by Japan's three largest convenience store chains.
COMMUNITY
How foreign workers became an essential part of Â鶹´«Ã½ ubiquitous konbini
By Yumi Wijers-Hasegawa
Despite the fact that most are relatively new to Japan, konbini officials say foreign staff display impressive language and customer service skills.

Voices

The Austrian team at this year¡¯s International Snow Sculpture Contest ¡ª (from left) Michelle Steinmetz, Karl Pont and Daniel Nachbaur ¡ª pose with their creation.
Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
In Sapporo, snow becomes a shared language
By Karl Pont
Working in temperatures as low as minus 6 degrees Celsius, artists from around the world convened in Sapporo this February to continue a tradition 50 years running.
Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
¡®Returnees¡¯ reckon with a Japan that sets them apart
By Eri Yabe
Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Shinkansen vs. Amtrak and the lost art of small talk
By Daniel Traylor
Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Making a home in Japan with holiday meals and memories
By Karen Hill Anton
Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Young Indonesians in Japan find their political voice
By Nadila
Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Wielding a weapon of yore at a community dojo
By Monique Bae
Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Beauty in slowness: Life lessons from Japanese embroidery
By Cassie Xu

Issues

Young people in India's northeast are increasingly studying Japanese in hopes of building new lives and careers in Japan.
Issues / The Foreign Element
Japan needs caregivers. Young Indians are answering the call.
By Megha Wadhwa
From classrooms in India¡¯s northeast to nursing homes in Japan, an emerging labor corridor hopes to improve lives in both countries.
Issues
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie
Issues
As immigration rises, Kawasaki¡¯s foreign council shows path toward inclusion
By Moe Shimizu
Issues / The Foreign Element
Anglophone bookworms unite across Japan
By Mike Fu
Issues / The Foreign Element
Fujisawa flashpoint: A mosque project stokes nativist fears
By Simon Scott and Ben Stubbings
Issues / The Foreign Element
Women in Law Japan marks 10 years amid persistent gender gap in the profession
By Louise George Kittaka
Issues / The Foreign Element
In Onomichi, urbanists redesign public life via vacant homes
By Sneha Nagesh

How-tos

Navigating cancer treatment as a foreign resident of Japan can be an added layer of stress, but nonprofit organizations and community resources are available to support those with a diagnosis.
How-tos
Counseling and community for foreign cancer patients in Japan
By Jason Bartashius
Navigating cancer treatment as a foreign resident can be daunting, but mental health clinics, nonprofit organizations and other platforms can support the journey.
How-tos
Please your palate with Tokyo¡¯s international grocery stores
By Mike Fu
How-tos
Tax-advantaged investments no lost cause for U.S. residents of Japan
By Gendel Gento
How-tos
A furever friend: Tips for responsible dog ownership in Japan
By Kat Joplin
How-tos / Age Wise
Planning for the future in a time of inflation
By Gendel Gento
How-tos
How to navigate Â鶹´«Ã½ e-commerce platforms and online flea markets
By Jessica Speed
How-tos
How to make it as an English-language author in Japan
By Kat Joplin

Our Lives

James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Our Lives
Inside Â鶹´«Ã½ rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
By Mai Yoshikawa
Beyond the paperwork and the language barrier, James Benstead says the hardest part about adopting in Japan was the waiting.
Our Lives
The 180-day locals: Life on Â鶹´«Ã½ digital nomad visa
By Mai Yoshikawa
Our Lives
How a U.S. author found ¡ª and helped build ¡ª community in a Japanese hot spring town
By Michele Laudig
Our Lives
Fear and uncertainty for foreign business owners after Japan revises rules
By Elizabeth Beattie
Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Sturdy Tanpopo is a ¡®dandy lioness¡¯
Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Exuberant eater Minori will bless your home
Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
¡®Goofy fluffball¡¯ Gammo has a heart filled with joy
Read more COMMUNITY stories
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'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't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it'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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