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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.
A child stands in front of the Hibiya Music Hall, which collapsed during the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 31, 2023
The earthquake that turned Tokyo to ash
This week we commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake.
Items from the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake are on display at the memorial museum in Yokoamicho Park in Tokyo. Here, a warped clock is frozen minutes after the quake struck at 11:58 a.m. on Sept. 1, 1923.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Aug 31, 2023
The Great Kanto Earthquake: A wall of fire, a picture of hell
On Sept. 1, 1923, a massive earthquake struck off the coast of Kanagawa Prefecture. It came to be defined by fire and vigilantism.
The color of a red torii gate in Bushidaira, Saitama Prefecture, still stands out against a vibrant green backdrop.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Aug 18, 2023
Exploring the eerie beauty of Japan's abandoned villages
Depopulation and an aging society have turned parts of the countryside into tourist attractions for those eager to explore a forgotten era.
A man stands atop a float holding a portable shrine at this year’s Sanja Festival in Tokyo.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 20, 2023
Why 2023 will be a deciding year for Japan’s iconic summer festivals
As the population gets older do we risk losing the summer festivals that make Japan unique?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Longform
Jul 10, 2023
In Japan, plenty of inheritances, but no one to claim them
With deaths outpacing births by 2-to-1, dealing with the assets of the deceased is both a growing business and an administrative nightmare.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 26, 2023
Inside Japan’s oldest village
With a median age of 68.4, Nanmoku is at the forefront of the nation’s battle against the gray wave.
Japan Times
LIFE / Longform
Jun 12, 2023
Hunting for marriage: Inside Japan’s matchmaking crusade
As fewer people are tying the knot and the birthrate continues to fall, a range of initiatives are being made available to those who haven’t given up on love.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / Longform
Jun 4, 2023
'Stakeout Diary': A killer on the run, two postwar gumshoes — noir at its finest
When a photographer was given rare permission to follow two detectives through Tokyo on a murder case, who’d have known he’d gather a legion of fans decades later.
PODCAST / deep dive
May 17, 2023
Yes, crime is on the rise in Japan. No, you don’t have to panic.
The year so far has been marked with several high-profile crime stories and, according to the numbers, crime is on the rise. However, the types of crime we’re seeing are different from before.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / Longform
May 15, 2023
Rebuilding a community: Hiroshima after the bomb
In the decades since World War II ended, the city has undergone significant material and demographic changes — yet some still remember the old streets.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
May 1, 2023
A new journey: Reviving Japan’s hospitality industry
In the wake of the pandemic, businesses are looking for ways to engage workers once more and welcome new waves of travelers.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 20, 2023
[Rebroadcast] How making alcohol from trees could give rural Japan a buzz
Check out this podcast from November that explores how some Japanese companies are trying to make alcohol from old trees.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / Longform
Apr 10, 2023
Are rising crime rates in Japan cause for alarm?
After tumbling for two decades, the number of criminal offenses in the nation jumped last year. Should we be worried?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Longform
Mar 11, 2023
Abandoned after 3/11, Fukushima starts attracting new residents
People are moving to areas near the crippled nuclear power plant in the prefecture lured by the promise of subsidies, discount housing and work opportunities. But will these migrants stay?
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 8, 2023
Moving to Fukushima? You’ll have to kick out the boars first
This week Alex K.T. Martin joins us to talk about the state of Fukushima 12 years after the quake. Animals have practically taken over, but Fukushima isn't the only place facing that challenge.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2023
In the shadow of the Fukushima disaster, an unusual experiment in rewilding
Wild animals have been thriving and expanding their habitat around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant since 2011, giving researchers a glimpse of nature’s resilience to radiation.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 2, 2023
Details emerge on teenage suspect in stabbing at Saitama school
Police arrested the 17-year-old on suspicion of attempted murder after he allegedly stabbed a 60-year-old teacher multiple times in the arms and stomach.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / Longform
Feb 20, 2023
Unpacking Japan’s great wage conundrum
With inflation running at a four-decade high, the world’s third-largest economy’s famously stagnant salaries are finally showing signs of rising. Can the momentum be sustained?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
Jan 30, 2023
Reining in Japan’s unstoppable urban sprawl
The world’s most rapidly aging nation wants its shrinking population to concentrate in regional urban centers. However, things aren't going as planned.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 23, 2023
Trapped in trash: Japan’s hidden hoarders
Behind closed doors, Japan has more houses filled with garbage than you might think — a phenomenon being exacerbated by shifting demographics and pandemic-induced social isolation.
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’

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
By Johan Brooks

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