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April 05, 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 / Society
Dec 25, 2017
New JRA system to let addicts' families block online gambling
The Japan Racing Association says it will begin accepting applications Thursday from family members living with those clinically diagnosed with gambling disorders or suspected of struggling with its symptoms.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2017
Taiwan objects to Kojien dictionary's definition of the independent island state
The publisher of Kojien, the most authoritative dictionary in Japan, has been stuck between a rock and a hard place over its definition of Taiwan as a province of China, prompting a request for a correction from the self-ruled island.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2017
Cabinet OKs record-high ¥97.71 trillion 2018 budget to cover rising social security and defense costs
The Cabinet approves a draft budget of u00a597.7 trillion for fiscal 2018, breaking the record for the sixth year straight.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 14, 2017
Rakuten announces foray into saturated Japanese cellphone market
The e-commerce giant aims to become nation's fourth mobile carrier, in a move that threatens to disrupt the cellular phone market oligopoly.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2017
Japanese workers feel guilty taking time off and use fewer holidays than their international peers: survey
A survey revealed that Japanese used 50 percent of their vacation days, placing them at the bottom of the list for the second consecutive year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2017
Rakuten Inc. teams up with Booking.com to offer minpaku lodging services
E-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. is teaming up with global online travel agent Booking.com as it prepares to take on Airbnb Inc. in the increasingly competitive market for private short-term minpaku lodging services.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 5, 2017
Two Japanese animated films in contention for top recognition at Annie Awards
Two Japanese animated films — one dealing with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the other about the fantastical adventures of a nap-loving high school girl — have been nominated in one of the main categories for the 45th annual Annie Awards.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2017
Birkenstock looks to step up Japan sales with a mix of tradition and bold new ideas
German shoemaker Birkenstock plans to double its business in Japan and offer consumers a wider range of products through selective distribution, according to the first chief executive officer from outside the founding family to run the centuries-old company.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 21, 2017
Jobs battle environment on sacred but scarred Mount Buko
Shin Sasakubo grew up listening to blasts of dynamite scar the slopes of Mount Buko and echo across his small town every day at half past noon.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 17, 2017
Airbnb's Japan unit denies violating antitrust laws after raid by FTC in October
Airbnb's Japan arm reveals it was raided by the Fair Trade Commission last month but denies any wrongdoing.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 10, 2017
Money Forward CEO wants to take popular budget-tracking app global
Budget-managing app operator Money Forward Inc. stoked investor excitement when it became the nation's first financial technology venture to go public in September, reflecting strong interest in the nascent but fast-growing sector.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 8, 2017
Small Saitama town embraces sharing economy in bid to battle demographic drain
Yokoze, a quiet, scenic town of around 8,400 in the mountainous Chichibu region in Saitama Prefecture, isn't immune to the sweeping demographic change impacting hundreds of rural municipalities across Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2017
Airbnb Inc. inks deal with ANA and Peach to promote 'new travel style'
Airbnb Inc. said Monday it has signed a partnership agreement with Japan's largest carrier, All Nippon Airways Co., and its subsidiary, Peach Aviation Ltd., in a bid to solicit more demand for domestic travel.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Taking the Lead
Nov 5, 2017
Yoshiharu Hoshino: Inn innovator's winning formula born from bubble's crash
Yoshiharu Hoshino describes his experience taking over the reins of his century-old family business in 1991 as a "hard landing."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 1, 2017
Sony's Aibo makes a comeback: There's life in the old dog yet
Sony Corp. said Wednesday it will resurrect Aibo, the robot-dog that inspired a cult following even after it was discontinued over a decade ago.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2017
Hospitality king Tomoyasu Kato sees small-scale boutique resorts as the next big thing
Tomoyasu Kato single-handedly transformed an ailing family business into a sprawling empire of hotels, spas, entertainment venues and a popular chain of udon noodle restaurants. Now he has set his sights on attracting affluent overseas travelers to a series of small-scale luxury resorts he plans to build...
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2017
Huge rent hike set to end sweet deal for Sensoji Temple shopkeepers
One of Japan's oldest and most visited shopping streets in the heart of Tokyo's touristy Asakusa district is bracing for a massive rent hike.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Taking the Lead
Oct 16, 2017
Ippudo ramen chain credits its global success to localized tastes
Toshiyuki Kiyomiya likes to compare ramen to a carefully arranged universe in a bowl.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 13, 2017
Hokkaido uses manga to educate people on how to react to any North Korea missile threat
The northern island of Hokkaido is turning to manga to instruct residents how to respond in the event of a North Korean missile launch.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 5, 2017
Hoshino Resorts, known for luxury, moves into midrange urban market
Hoshino Resorts Inc., known for its luxury hotels and traditional lodgings blending Japanese aesthetics and contemporary design, is making a foray into the urban hotel market with a new brand targeting tourists.
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
3D printer used to construct train station building in Japan
A train station building (front) is assembled from parts printed using 3D printer technology, in Arida, Wakayama Prefecture, on Wednesday.
Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
Tokyo’s KK Line to close for decadelong overhaul as public greenway
People enjoy running and yoga on Tokyo Expressway’s KK Line, a 2-kilometer elevated expressway cutting through the capital’s commercial Ginza district, when it was opened as a pedestrian space in May last year.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
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.

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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