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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
Aug 30, 2011
Noda pro-U.S. but past remarks may haunt Asia ties
While Japan-U.S. relations will remain the cornerstone of the nation's diplomacy under the leadership of Yoshihiko Noda, the Democratic Party of Japan's newly elected president and the nation's next prime minister, his past comments on war criminals could strain ties in Asia, analysts said Monday.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2011
DPJ hopefuls make final poll pitches
The race for the Democratic Party of Japan presidency drew heated debate on the final day of campaigning Sunday as the five candidates took their best shots at convincing their peers why they should be the next prime minister.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2011
1953 records on handling U.S. forces released
The Foreign Ministry on Friday released previously classified records dating from 1953, including a section stating that Japan didn't intend to exercise its primary right of jurisdiction over U.S. military personnel involved in crimes unless cases were deemed of "material importance."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2011
Sendai's jazz festival keeps the beat
For the past 20 years, the streets of Sendai have resonated with live music during the annual two-day Jozenji Streetjazz Festival, gathering crowds of hundreds and thousands from across the nation in what has become a staple mid-September feature in the city of 1 million.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2011
Maehara's overture to Ozawa
Former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, a leading candidate in Monday's Democratic Party of Japan presidential poll, made the rounds Wednesday seeking support from party lawmakers, including kingpin Ichiro Ozawa.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2011
Maher denies making disparaging remarks
Kevin Maher, a former senior U.S. diplomat sacked in March after allegedly making derogatory remarks about Okinawans, on Wednesday denied ever making the comments and accused the reporter who broke the story of breaching journalistic standards.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2011
Sidelined by quake, Libyans here still seek Gadhafi ouster
Japan's tiny Libyan community found itself in a tight spot when radiation scares swept the nation following the Tohoku triple disaster and foreigners fled the country en masse.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2011
Famed Miyagi temple's visitors vanishing
Entsuin, also known as the rose temple for its unique Western-style rose garden, has long been a tourist fixture in the bay town of Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2011
Tsunami spared Matsushima but swept away bay's tourists
Matsuo Basho, arguably Japan's most famous haiku poet, is said to have been at a loss for words when he first saw the hundreds of pine-clad islets scattered around Matsushima Bay during a 17th-century journey to the Tohoku region.
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2011
On day of past defeat, Kan urges recovery
Prime Minister Naoto Kan pledged Monday on the 66th anniversary of the end of World War II that the nation would recover from the March 11 triple disaster, likening the hardship to postwar reconstruction.
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2011
Disaster prep key for companies, APEC affirms
A three-day meeting on disaster preparedness by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum economies wrapped up Wednesday with attendees reaffirming the necessity to formulate and promote business continuity plans to improve risk-management in the private sector.
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2011
APEC workshop focuses on disaster preparedness
A gathering on disaster preparedness by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation members officially kicked off Tuesday, featuring case studies on how businesses overcame the damage inflicted by the March 11 catastrophe that wiped out many of their footholds in the Tohoku region.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 26, 2011
TV: Analog out, digital in, with rivals Net, satellite, cable
Sunday marked a nationwide transition to digital terrestrial television broadcasting, bringing to an end over five decades of analog transmissions in Japan.
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2011
Response to crisis shows deepening ties, Seoul's new ambassador says
Cooperation between Japan and South Korea in the aftermath of the Tohoku triple disaster proved that ties between the two nations have never been stronger, Seoul's new envoy to Tokyo said Monday.
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2011
Foreign policy short on rights focus: HRW chief
Japan needs to make greater efforts to incorporate human rights as an element of its foreign policy, according to the executive director of Human Rights Watch.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2011
UNHCR exec lauds refugee strides, urges more
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is grateful for the support Japan has given to the organization's work over the years, and hopes the government's refugee resettlement program proves successful and continues to expand, the agency's deputy high commissioner said in a recent interview.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2011
ASDF F-15 and pilot missing in the East China Sea
An Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighter from the Naha Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture apparently went down Tuesday morning in the East China Sea during a training flight and the pilot is listed as missing, Defense Ministry officials in Tokyo said.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2011
First overseas military base since WWII to open in Djibouti
The Maritime Self-Defense Force will hold an inauguration ceremony Tuesday in Djibouti for Japan's first overseas military base since World War II, a move that Ahmed Araita Ali, Djibouti's ambassador to Japan, describes as an opportunity for Tokyo to play a larger international role in peacekeeping and...
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2011
Reconstruction HQ holds first meet
The government's reconstruction headquarters held its first meeting Tuesday, with Prime Minister Naoto Kan calling for concrete measures to be drawn up to help the devastated northeast recover from the quake and tsunami.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2011
Red Cross: More Libya aid needed
Four months since a violent uprising swept Libya and split the nation in a civil war, fighting continues between forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi and the opposition seeking to drive him from power.
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.
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

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