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April 03, 2025
 

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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 / Society
Mar 6, 2019
Japanese artist behind ghastly creature in viral 'Momo Challenge' baffled by disturbing hoax
The ghastly image of a goggle-eyed creature that triggered the so-called Momo Challenge — a viral social-media hoax terrifying children and parents alike — was born in a cluttered two-story studio on the outskirts of Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2019
Tokyo restaurateur develops spore sheet to speed up aging of meat — and fish
Mikio Atobe carefully peels a layer of rayon netting from a chunk of farmed bluefin tuna, revealing a secondary sheet of cloth clinging to its exposed flesh, partially yellowed by the mold coating it.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 16, 2019
Embracing a buraku heritage: Examining changing attitudes toward a social minority
When Chie Takaiwa struck up the courage to reveal a family secret to her colleague some years ago, she was met by an unexpected response.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / Heisei Icons
Feb 7, 2019
Masayoshi Son: Betting big and winning
There's a well-known anecdote about Masayoshi Son, the maverick billionaire founder and chief executive of SoftBank Group Corp. and the man behind the world's largest technology investment fund.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Jan 22, 2019
The Todai Riots: 1968-69
A photographer who documented the occupation of the University of Tokyo from inside the barricades half a century ago remembers the final days of resistance
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Jan 19, 2019
The University of Tokyo riots of 1968-69: A photographer remembers the final days of resistance
Riot police at the University of Tokyo haul off a man wearing a white helmet, cuffed hands clasped above his bowed head. His expression is a mixture of resignation and defiance, but the fine details are hard to discern, obscured by the dark shades of the monochrome photograph he is depicted in — where...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 12, 2019
A rare glimpse into the world of Japan's cozy snack bars
Cigarette smoke wafts across rows of whisky and shōchū bottles with dedicated name tags draped around the necks as an elderly man, microphone in hand, belts out a Showa Era enka tune playing on the karaoke machine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 4, 2019
U.S. sensation known as kombucha makes a return trip to Japan
Brewer Yuji Shimada carefully holds the stem of a short wine glass and pours a clear, golden liquid from one of the taps mounted on the commercial refrigerator, the light fizz from natural carbonation creating a thin layer of foam reminiscent of beer head.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2018
Unknown overseas, Garigari-kun popsicles year-round best-sellers in Japan
It's Japan's top-selling popsicle — yet still virtually unknown overseas.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 3, 2018
Japanese volunteers spring to action after fatal child abuse case
Five-year old Yua Funato was found unconscious at a Tokyo apartment in March, her feet severely frostbitten and her face and body covered with bruises that were inflicted by her 33-year-old stepfather. She was later pronounced dead at a hospital from pneumonia-induced sepsis caused by malnutrition.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 28, 2018
Episode 2: The hangover that followed Japan's bubble era
In the 1980s and '90s, Japan saw one of the greatest economic bubbles in history, but after it burst, the hangover that followed was just as massive.
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Nov 24, 2018
Defining the Heisei Era: Examining the rise of otaku culture
With the number of children shrinking, popular entertainment naturally began targeting the otaku population that didn't hesitate to open their wallets for material many considered juvenile.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2018
Japan startup's superflies may hold key to food self-sufficiency — even in space
Houseflies, the Soviet space program and manned missions to Mars — these aren't plot devices for a Cold War space thriller, but key terms to understand the history behind Fukuoka-based startup Musca Inc.'s project to provide a solution to some of the world's most pressing agricultural problems: food...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2018
At death's door: The attraction of living in homes with ghastly pasts
Television sets inexplicably turn on and off. Visitors who enter his room complain of sudden migraines. Rapping sounds keep him awake at night, and psychics warn he is being stalked by ghostly apparitions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2018
Freeze-dried food guru engages in decades-long quest to take fare to new heights
Apply 140 milliliters of hot water on the brown rectangular block, then stir for 60 seconds and voila, a steaming plate of chicken cutlet curry — that quintessential Japanese comfort food — is resurrected from its mummified state, offering instant gratification with minimal preparation.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 13, 2018
Eternal saints: The art of self-preservation
Examining the extreme ritual behind the monks who spent years turning themselves into mummies while they were alive
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2018
A creative force in a concrete jungle: Architect's Tokyo project draws on love and improvisation
Sandwiched between old residential apartments in the capital's central Minato Ward is the Arimaston Building, an eccentric collage of individually patterned concrete slabs piled upon each other as if by happenstance.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 29, 2018
Mixing music genres into something magic
Curator of the Live Magic! festival shares experiences of DJ-ing in Japan and reveals some of his favorite tunes.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 25, 2018
Hokusai: Examining the enduring allure of a Japanese icon
Hokusai's thirst for new forms of expression and willingness to abandon established techniques continues to intrigue the world today.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 20, 2018
Yusaku Maezawa: Japan's corporate enfant terrible with the world's first ticket to the moon
Call it a flashy billionaire's whimsy or a stroke of PR genius.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.
No longer a 'bridesmaid': Yuki Tsunoda prepares for the Red Bull pressure cooker
All eyes will be on Yuki Tsunoda as he makes his Red Bull debut at the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
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