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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
Oct 4, 2017
Japan tourism group builds social media presence with new Instagram account
The Japan National Tourism Organization is finally turning to Instagram to attract overseas travelers amid an unprecedented tourism boom.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 3, 2017
Mobile gaming firm Akatsuki to adapt Japanese content for U.S. TV and movie screens
Mobile gaming company Akatsuki Inc. announced Tuesday the launch of a U.S.-based entertainment production company aimed at developing feature films for a global audience based on popular Japanese content including manga, anime and novels.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 28, 2017
Megahit anime 'Your Name.' to get live-action Hollywood remake
J.J. Abrams and Paramount Pictures will be turning one of Japan's highest-grossing anime films into a live-action remake, but not all fans are enthusiastic.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2017
Japan Airlines announces code-sharing deal with Hawaiian Airlines
Japan Airlines said Tuesday it will enter into a code-sharing deal with Hawaiian Airlines and form a joint venture in the coming months to boost access to one of the most popular overseas destinations for Japanese travelers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2017
Voters question Abe's decision to call snap election
Many voters on Tuesday appeared confounded at the timing of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election, questioning the need to set in motion a costly process without a clear need to secure a new national mandate.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2017
The public has spoken: Xiang Xiang is the name of Ueno Zoo's newest star
The new star at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo has been named Xiang Xiang, the kanji for which can mean either "fragrance" or "popular" in Chinese.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 25, 2017
High tech, IT and robots are at forefront of Japan's funeral industry boom
From a sutra-chanting humanoid robot to automated cemeteries, technological innovation is changing how Japanese deal with funerary rituals.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 22, 2017
Amazon's Twitch ready to take on Japan's game-streaming market
Amazon's game-broadcasting and social-video company, Twitch, is stepping up efforts to expand its presence in the nation that invented Mario, Pokemon and the PlayStation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2017
U.S. colleges still attract international students despite country's racial tensions: USC president
Despite the heightened state of racial tensions in the United States, interest in the nation's higher education system remains strong among international students, the president of the oldest private university in California said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2017
Campaign to help elderly, disabled passengers launched by Tokyo-area train companies
East Japan Railway Co. and other railway services operating in the Tokyo metropolitan area launched a campaign Tuesday asking the public to lend a hand in helping the elderly and people with disabilities.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2017
Beyond Airbnb: Minpaku market poised for growth
Needing a place to stay before moving to a new home, James Degan recently went on Airbnb and found an apartment in Tokyo's upscale Minato Ward. At ¥8,000 per night with a double bed and fully equipped kitchen, it came cheaper than staying in a hotel and was conveniently located near a station close...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2017
In Japan's fledgling bike-sharing scene, the race for market share heats up
Bike sharing is shifting into higher gear in Japan as a string of new players and leading Chinese services announce their entry into a nascent but growing domestic market.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2017
Day care facilities test robots as high-tech solution to alleviate staffing shortages
In a bid to help fix the nation's child care crunch, a Tokyo-based start-up is testing a new service combining robots and sensors to monitor kids at nurseries.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 6, 2017
Six-decade run of Japan's first private condominium to end with redevelopment plan
The nation's first privately developed condominium project that helped usher in a postwar apartment boom is to undergo demolition and redevelopment, drawing the curtain on its six-decade history.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 5, 2017
Drive-thru funeral service will let Japanese bid an easy and fast last farewell
In a first for Japan, a funeral home operator in Nagano Prefecture will be offering a drive-thru service allowing the bereaved to give their final farewells without having to get out of their car.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2017
U.S. Ambassador William Hagerty asks Twitter for suggested travel spots to 'rediscover' Japan
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo is asking Twitter users to suggest places in Japan for new U.S. Ambassador William Hagerty and his family to visit.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2017
New U.S. ambassador William Hagerty arrives in Japan, vows strong economic and security ties
William Hagerty, new U.S. envoy, arrives in Tokyo emphasizing U.S. commitment to “ironclad” bilateral security ties in the face of North Korea's escalating nuclear threats.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2017
Pepper the robot to don Buddhist robe for its new funeral services role
SoftBank Group Corp.'s humanoid robot Pepper has taken on various roles since its mass-market debut in 2015.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2017
For young Japanese, war mostly seen as something from dim and distant past
Masaaki Inoue has been visiting Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for decades.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 8, 2017
AstraZeneca seeks Japan's first approval for hereditary cancer drug in relapsed sufferers
Olaparib, already approved in the United States and the European Union, acts against cancers in people with hereditary mutations in genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer.
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.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
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.
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
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).
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.
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.

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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