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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 / Crime & Legal
Mar 2, 2023
Details emerge on teenage suspect in stabbing at Saitama school
Police arrested the 17-year-old on suspicion of attempted murder after he allegedly stabbed a 60-year-old teacher multiple times in the arms and stomach.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / Longform
Feb 20, 2023
Unpacking Japan’s great wage conundrum
With inflation running at a four-decade high, the world’s third-largest economy’s famously stagnant salaries are finally showing signs of rising. Can the momentum be sustained?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
Jan 30, 2023
Reining in Japan’s unstoppable urban sprawl
The world’s most rapidly aging nation wants its shrinking population to concentrate in regional urban centers. However, things aren't going as planned.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 23, 2023
Trapped in trash: Japan’s hidden hoarders
Behind closed doors, Japan has more houses filled with garbage than you might think — a phenomenon being exacerbated by shifting demographics and pandemic-induced social isolation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2022
With wildlife pests on the rise, Japan turns to novel countermeasures
The old-school approach of the nation's hunters is being pushed to its limits, prompting some to turn to unusual kinds of drones and robots.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Dec 19, 2022
Downsizing death: Japan's funeral industry at a crossroads
The death care business is rethinking the services it offers in response to soaring bookings and sagging revenue in a rapidly aging nation
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 30, 2022
How making alcohol from trees could give rural Japan a buzz
Alex K.T. Martin joins us to talk about the science — and sustainable process — behind the process that may bring cedar, oak and sakura to your next cocktail session.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Longform
Nov 28, 2022
Wood spirits: How Japan made the world’s first liquor from trees
History is being made by a technology that may help aging rural populations, reinvigorate the nation's struggling forestry sector and shake up the global alcohol industry in unforeseen ways.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 2, 2022
Hey Japan, are you happy?
Deep Dive explores whether the Japanese are content or not with the help of Alex K.T. Marin, who has written several features on the polls and surveys of happiness.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
Oct 31, 2022
Can Japan’s pandemic-hit amusement parks return with a bang?
Does the opening of Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture reflect a turnaround in fortunes for theme park operators in Japan?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
Oct 17, 2022
Work forever: Japan’s seniors brace for life without retirement
Many older Japanese can no longer afford to stop working as demographic woes pressure the nation's labor market and social security system.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Sep 19, 2022
Pitch black: A therapeutic walk into total darkness
Night treks help people in Japan reclaim a primitive fear and reverence toward a world without light.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2022
As prices continue to rise, Japan’s frugal households get even thriftier
Against a backdrop of a weaker yen and soaring raw material and crude oil costs, over 20,000 products have seen or will see prices raised by an average of 14% this year, research shows.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Aug 29, 2022
How faith and spirituality shape modern Japan
The religious movement behind the grudge held by the man charged with Abe's assassination has cast a fresh light on how religion is perceived and practiced in the nation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Aug 1, 2022
Inside Japan's happiest town
A shrinking community that was fading into obscurity is now considered the nation's happiest town. What's the secret behind the smiles in Hatoyama, Saitama?
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / Longform
Jul 18, 2022
Submerged secrets: The hunt for Japan’s underwater ruins
Although the island nation has lagged behind in the field of underwater archaeology, there's a growing thirst for sunken discoveries.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 14, 2022
The rapid rise of round-the-clock fitness in Japan
The world's largest fitness chain is expanding its footprint in a nation opening up to the merits of building up muscle.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2022
Former PM Shinzo Abe in 'serious condition' after being shot in Nara
The former prime minister was attacked while giving a campaign speech ahead of Sunday's Upper House election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 27, 2022
What evil lurks in the shadow of anonymity?
Fueled by pandemic-induced stress, nameless netizens are directing myriad harmful and threatening messages on the internet with little fear of retribution.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Jun 13, 2022
As COVID-19 fears subside, Japan debates the future of masks
How much longer before the nation reaches a tipping point when people start ditching their masks en masse?

Longform

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