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August 11, 2026
 

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VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers work in quake-damaged houses in Hikawa, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2026
Volunteer activities fully start in quake-hit Kumamoto
As of 2 p.m. Saturday, 1,751 people were working as volunteers in afflicted areas.
Mauricio Ojeda (center) takes part in a flood prevention drill in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, in June.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Chubu
Jul 27, 2026
More foreign nationals joining fire brigades in Japan, but barriers remain
Volunteer fire brigade members of foreign nationality can only engage in activities within the scope of acts that do not constitute exercising public authority.
Gentaro Yui, a 51-year-old executive of Moriumius's operator, in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, in December
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2026
Farm experiences in disaster-hit Japanese area attracting children
Since opening 11 years ago, the Moriumius facility has received a total of some 15,000 elementary and junior high school students, with many becoming repeat visitors.
Japan Cleft Palate Foundation Executive Director Nagato Natsume (second from left) examines a child at Nguyen Dinh Chieu General Hospital in Vinh Long province, Vietnam. Natsume is part of a Japanese team that carries out volunteer overseas missions to provide free surgery to people born with cleft lips or palates.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Chubu
Jul 6, 2026
Japanese doctors mark 34 years of free cleft-lip surgeries in Vietnam
In many developing countries, treatment for cleft lips or palates is often delayed because of financial hardship and limited access to specialized care.
Haruo Obata maintains mountain trails on Mount Yufu in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on March 17.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 27, 2026
86-year-old ¡®super volunteer¡¯ excited for return to school
¡°Life is a never-ending learning process,¡± said Haruo Obata, who will attend a night junior high school.
Volunteer Shunichi Hirata (right) checks a heater as he chats with Takako Shimizu, who manages residents¡¯ mutual support activities in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Jan 19, 2026
Mutual support in Gifu housing estate offers model case for aging society
From helping with hospital visits to even being a playmate for board games, residents of Yagiyama district help one another with small everyday problems.
Radio hosts Floyd Gillis and Thelma Sasao, Nishinomiya residents who hail from Canada and the Philippines, respectively, record a conversation with guest Leslie Ou (right) for an episode of "Bridges Across World Communities" airing on Sakura FM.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Jan 9, 2026
Local radio connects Nishinomiya¡¯s foreign residents
Since 2007, ¡°Bridges Across World Communities¡± has been both a conversation hub and a purveyor of information to the growing population of foreign residents in this commuter town.
Akihiko Tanaka, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, speaks at a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers program, held in Tokyo on Thursday.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Nov 18, 2025
Â鶹´«Ã½ overseas volunteer effort faces personnel shortage as it marks 60th year
Grassroots human exchanges have fostered multilayered relations with other countries, but private sector alternatives and public perceptions are creating recruitment headwinds.
The government adopted a bill on Tuesday extending volunteer probation officers' terms from two to three years.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2025
Japan to extend volunteer probation officers¡¯ terms to three years
The draft revision is aimed at helping secure people who will take on the role of watching over the rehabilitation of individuals who committed crimes or delinquent acts.
Kinga Skiers (left) co-founded the Tokyo chapter of Food Not Bombs in 2023. The organization aims to provide the capital¡¯s homeless population with food and other essentials.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Aug 18, 2025
Solidarity with Tokyo¡¯s homeless residents, one day at a time
Since 2023, the Tokyo chapter of Food Not Bombs has been supplying vegetarian meals and everyday goods to homeless people across the city.
Shun Sasaki, 12, an elementary school student in Hiroshima, guides foreign visitors in English as a volunteer guide in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima on July 15.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 31, 2025
Hiroshima schoolboy keeps memories of war alive with guided tours? in English
Shun Sasaki¡¯s volunteer work has let to him being selected as one of two local children to speak at this year¡¯s ceremony marking 80 years since the A-bomb was dropped.
Firefighters want more funding and better incentives for the millions of volunteers who prop up the system.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 3, 2025
¡®Not sustainable¡¯: Europe¡¯s firefighters want more funds and staff
Wildfires fueled by hotter, drier weather and household fires are straining fire services across the bloc.
Magokoro Yoshihira (center) is the managing director of Yui Associates, which operates the neighborhood fixtures of Sanya Cafe and Juyoh Hotel. Yusuke Takahashi (left) met Yoshihira during a difficult period in his life and now works as the cafe¡¯s chef. Nancy Anne (right) has worked for over 10 years at Juyoh Hotel and enjoys the multicultural environment.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Apr 28, 2025
Reclaiming Sanya, one meal at a time
Since 2018, Sanya Cafe has been building community in one of Tokyo¡¯s most colorful ¡ª and infamous ¡ª neighborhoods.
Yumi Watanabe (right), head of the residents' association of the Tsubamesawa public housing complex in Sendai, delivers a meal to a resident.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Apr 21, 2025
Disaster public housing complexes in Sendai work to boost interactions
Residents are working with volunteers to organize a children¡¯s cafeteria and other events.
Children play with trading cards featuring "local heroes" created by a local community council in the Saidosho district of Kawara, Fukuoka Prefecture, in January.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Apr 7, 2025
¡®Local hero¡¯ trading cards nudge children toward community activities
The cards, which feature real people, are helping to break the ice between children and adults in Kawara, Fukuoka Prefecture.
Teruko Nakazawa, a retired unpaid parole officer (back), talks with her former parolee in the smoking room of a cafe in Tokyo. Around 47,000 citizen volunteers far outnumber the 1,000 salaried probation officers working in Japan.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 23, 2025
Â鶹´«Ã½ unpaid parole officers are driven by a ¡®love for humanity¡¯
The around 47,000 citizen volunteers far outnumber the 1,000 salaried probation officers in Japan.
Volunteers take care of children at a children¡¯s play space opened for survivors of the earthquake in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 31, 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025
Professor highlights crucial importance of volunteer aid after major quakes
Although volunteers often face criticism on social media, an expert in disaster management argues that volunteers are essential from the very moment a disaster strikes.
Runako Onodera,who donated a book purchased at a bookstore to "Book Santa" on Nov. 25 in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2024
Santa project to deliver donated books to children in Noto
1,868 bookstores joining the project across the country¡¯s 47 prefectures at present will continue to collect donations until Wednesday.
Book Santa is a program that delivers books to children in need for Christmas, but it also operates year-round.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 17, 2024
Looking for ways to be charitable in Japan? Give the gift of reading.
Book donations are just one of many ways you can give back to the community during the holidays.
Tokyo Union Church volunteers prepare food for unhoused individuals. The church helps people regardless of religion, race or sexuality.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 16, 2024
From the stage to the streets, make a difference this holiday season
Discover the joy of giving back through a variety of charitable efforts. Helping others helps you, too.
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.
¡®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.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
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.

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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