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April 01, 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
Jan 24, 2009
2channel founder ponders next step after forum's sale
A short message recently posted on Hiroyuki Nishimura's personal blog sent shock waves across the online community. In a single sentence dated Jan. 2, he announced that he had sold 2channel, his wildly popular Internet forum.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Jan 20, 2009
Missionary devotes lifework to helping Tokyo homeless
Jean Le Beau says his decision to pursue a life dedicated to the benefit of others was inspired in high school when he read the story of Father Damien, a 19th-century Roman Catholic missionary from Belgium who spent his life caring for lepers cast out of normal society and quarantined on the Hawaiian...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2009
Palestinian aid worker blogs on Gaza strife
An aid worker living in Gaza has been sending in blog entries to the nongovernmental organization he works for, reporting on the dire situation his family and fellow Gaza residents are experiencing amid an Israeli military drive that has reportedly killed more than 1,000 so far, the international NGO's...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2009
NPO told to stop feeding homeless
The nonprofit organization Sanyukai, which aids the homeless in Tokyo's Sanya district, has been ordered by the metropolitan government to stop handing out its weekly free meals along the Sumida River because local residents are complaining, the volunteer group's chief said Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2009
Teachers beset by unruly parents
When the 27-year-old rookie elementary school teacher in Kanagawa Prefecture began receiving phone calls from the mother of one of his students demanding an apology from the parents of their child's alleged "bullies," he thought it was just a misunderstanding by an overprotective parent.
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE MANY FACES OF CITIZENSHIP
Jan 3, 2009
Benefits in offing for those allowed multiple citizenship
Second in a series
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2008
S. Korean tourists wither with won
The sharp appreciation of the yen and the dramatic fall of South Korea's won has had a big impact on tourism on both sides of the Sea of Japan.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2008
Exchange rate woes putting foreign students in a bind
The strong yen and tumbling South Korean won are making life difficult for people whose income depends on the two currency's exchange rates.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2008
Komazawa University axes exec over losses
Komazawa University in Tokyo said Friday it dismissed its executive administrative director, Nobuo Miyamoto, on Thursday following a reported ¥15.4 billion loss from derivatives trading.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2008
New U.S. travel authorization plan has airlines on edge before launch
A new border control system the United States will start using to screen short-term foreign travelers in January remains relatively unknown less than a month before launch, and people in the airline and tourism industries are worried the lack of awareness will wreak havoc at airports nationwide.
Japan Times
JAPAN / READERS' FUND
Dec 17, 2008
NGO fetes 15th school it's built in Cambodia
Fourth in a series
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2008
U.S. human rights activist calls for end of North Korean gulag
American human rights investigator David Hawk said Sunday in Tokyo there should be a plan for dismantling North Korea's notorious political prison camps, not just the country's nuclear facilities.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2008
One man's theory, another's laugh
Conspiracy theories, occultism, UFOs and pseudoscience. Society abounds with the conjectures of people thinking far, far outside the box.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2008
Tamogami essay fits 'outrageous' conspiracy theory mold
As a board member of The Academy of Outrageous Books, Shunichi Karasawa sees parallels between the controversial essay written by sacked Air Self-Defense Force chief Toshio Tamogami, an apologist for Japan's wartime aggression, and classic "outrageous" conspiracy theories.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2008
'Educational' package tour of U.S. jury system falls flat
A travel package featuring an educational tour of the jury system in the United States has so far failed to attract enough applicants to actually take off, a Japan Airlines Corp. spokesman said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Nov 29, 2008
Cultural differences a common bond for Japanese-Korean pair
Takashi Yasuda and Kim Hye Gyong met three years ago while both were living in an international guesthouse in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2008
Kurosawa's 'Rashomon' revisited
Akira Kurosawa's 1950 masterpiece "Rashomon" has undergone a makeover.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2008
Most video parlors in violation of building, fire laws
According to a national survey conducted in response to the arson fire that killed 16 people at a video parlor in Osaka in October, a majority of such establishments were in violation of fire protection laws and building codes.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2008
Japan lags U.S. in using Net to mobilize voters
When Tadamasa Kimura says he is envious of Barack Obama's victorious campaign to become president of the United States, it's not because he's an unsuccessful aspirant to political office.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 18, 2008
'Enka' still strikes nostalgic nerve
A windy night, the whistle of the midnight train, and a bad breakup.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
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.
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
NFL comeback star Damar Hamlin shares life-saving message in Tokyo
Damar Hamlin poses with students at The American School in Japan on Thursday.
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.
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.
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.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.

Podcast

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

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