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July 27, 2024
 

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Alex K.T. Martin

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Alex K.T. Martin
Alex K.T. Martin is a Tokyo-based journalist and senior writer at The Japan Times, primarily focusing on feature stories. Previously he was a Tokyo correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2018
Pop star Tatsuya Yamaguchi to take 'hard look at himself' as he apologizes for forcibly kissing teen
Teary-eyed and his voice shaking, pop star Tatsuya Yamaguchi apologized Thursday for kissing and engaging in indecent behavior with a high school-aged girl in a career-crushing scandal leading to his indefinite suspension from show business.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 24, 2018
Endangered bat, believed to be extinct locally, discovered in former U.S. training area in Okinawa
A former U.S. military training site in Okinawa Prefecture provided a precious refuge for a critically endangered bat unseen on the prefecture's main island for 22 years. The Yanbaru whiskered bat (Myotis yanbarensis) was captured by a research team two months ago, Kyoto University revealed Monday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 12, 2018
Toys R Us in talks to sell majority stake in Asia unit, including Japan business
Beleaguered retail chain Toys R Us Inc. is negotiating to sell its 85 percent stake in its Asian business, including the Japan operations.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2018
U.S. ride-hailing provider Lyft considers offering services in Japan
U.S. ride-hailing firm Lyft Inc. is considering providing its services in Japan, a market where rival Uber Technologies Inc. has so far seen limited success due to regulatory hurdles.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2018
Japan's ¥1,000 departure tax: Diet approves law on use of revenue from levy set to start in 2019
The government aims to use the funds to boost tourism infrastructure and promote travel destinations in rural Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 6, 2018
Rakuten Inc. gets approval to become nation's fourth major wireless carrier
E-commerce giant granted access to a fierce competition for subscribers alongside industry heavyweights who have long dominated the cellular market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2018
Japan faces losses on grain, production fronts if U.S.-China trade war erupts
Firms in Japan could be affected by the escalating trade row if they source production in China, export grain from U.S. subsidiaries, or if U.S.-bound shipments from China fall.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Taking the Lead
Apr 1, 2018
Zozotown founder Yusaku Maezawa follows eclectic path
Andy Warhol's iconic Campbell's Soup cans, a painting by Takashi Murakami and a word sculpture by Jack Pierson are some of the pieces decorating the head office of Start Today Co., operator of Japan's largest online fashion mall, Zozotown.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Taking the Lead
Mar 22, 2018
Lawson chief bets on health, tech as future of convenience
Back in 2014, Sadanobu Takemasu was asked by his boss to go to Lawson, the convenience store chain known for its white milk can logo on a blue signboard.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / Deep Dive
Mar 19, 2018
1995 Aum sarin attack on Tokyo subway still haunts, leaving questions unanswered
Hitoshi Jin describes his younger brother spending the booming 1980s "cult surfing," exploring what new religions had to offer to fill the gaping spiritual void left by a childhood scarred by an abusive father.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 3/11: Rebuilding Tohoku
Mar 10, 2018
Kamaishi mounts a soft-power recovery to revive tsunami-hit community
The city of Kamaishi is quietly combating its population decline with PR, career-advancement and tourism measures designed to revive its tsunami-battered community.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 3/11: Rebuilding Tohoku
Mar 8, 2018
Tohoku communities slow to regroup as tsunami-hit cities rebuild on higher ground
Takashi Ito's family-owned book and stationery store is one of the 20 or so shops occupying a new mall that opened last year in Rikuzentakata, a tsunami-ravaged city in Iwate Prefecture once known for the towering pine trees that lined its scenic coast.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 12, 2018
Japan's staff-heavy banks downsize and turn to technology for survival
These are tough times for banks.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Feb 11, 2018
Kind act sprouts into grass-roots movement to feed kids
Hiroko Kondo is credited with coining the term kodomo shokudō: makeshift eateries for disadvantaged kids that morphed into a national grass-roots movement to address the growth of poverty in Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 6, 2018
Nikkei plunges over 1,600 points as Wall Street rout spreads
Tokyo stocks on Tuesday saw their largest decline since 2016 as Wall Street's sell-off delivered heavy blows to investor risk appetite.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 2, 2018
Kaz Hirai to end six-year Sony reign on high note
Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai, the man credited with the electronics giant's turnaround, will assume the chairmanship and be replaced by his right-hand man.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2018
Financial watchdog raps Coincheck over lax security following massive hack
The government's financial watchdog takes administrative action against the cryptocurrency exchange hit last week by the largest-ever theft of digital money.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 26, 2018
Rakuten and Walmart take aim at Amazon, with alliance for groceries and e-books in Japan and U.S.
E-commerce giant Rakuten and retail behemoth Walmart form a partnership to launch e-content sales and a Japanese grocery delivery service via Seiyu.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2018
Japan's Recruit Holdings announces entry into vacation rental market
Recruit Holdings Co. announces its entry into the vacation rental market ahead of a new law giving the green light to private short-term minpaku lodging services.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 16, 2018
Docomo experiment to take bite out of food waste woes
The move is part of an ongoing effort by Japan Inc. to reduce the immense quantity of food discarded by food companies and retailers.
Japan's population continues to fall even as foreign resident count rises
The number of residents in Tokyo as of Jan. 1 rose by 0.03% from a year before, data shows, marking a year-on-year increase for the first time in three years, while the country's other 46 prefectures saw their populations continue to decline.
Ahead of the Olympics, Japan is still talking about the gymnast who won't be there
Japan's Shoko Miyata withdrew from the gymnastics team herself over her drinking and smoking, although it had already appeared as though the association was prepared to send her home from the team’s training camp in Monaco.
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
One dead, three missing as heavy rain batters Tohoku
Camera footage shows the Mogami River bursting its banks in Tozawa, Yamagata Prefecture, on Friday morning.
Brazil issues apology for persecuting Japan immigrants during WWII
Enea Almeida (right), chair of the Brazilian amnesty commission, shakes hands with the representative for Japanese immigrants on Thursday in Brasilia.
When did summer in Japan stop being fun?
Summer in Japan is now consistently brutal enough to drive you indoors and keep you there until autumn.
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
Japan loses top spot on strongest passport list to Singapore
Japan had the strongest passport for six years running from 2018, before being dethroned by Singapore on the 2024 list.
Why Japan's mysterious stash of classified funds escapes scrutiny
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan eyes gold — and the future — as Olympic men's soccer campaign begins
Japan midfielder Yu Hirakawa controls the ball during a match against the United States in Kansas City, Kansas, on June 11.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals
By Alex K.T. Martin

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