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July 16, 2024
 

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LONGFORM

The “myahk,” a community currency implemented on Okinawa Prefecture’s Miyako Island in 2018, is intimately tied to local efforts for environmental preservation.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Feb 10, 2024
Japanese communities are creating currencies to educate and empower citizens
The yen will do when paying for things throughout the country. In some places, though, you may try paying with a coin that also helps reduce plastic waste.
Emperors sought eternal life for centuries, but scientists believe our physical bodies have limits. That's where technologists come in.
BUSINESS / Tech / Longform
Feb 3, 2024
The digital beyond: Is an eternal existence within grasp?
Immortality has been a dream for centuries, but scientists doubt its possibility. Can technologists and coders find a virtual path instead?
Shitsui Hakoishi, 107, works with researcher Yasumichi Arai (left) while her younger brother, Hidemasa, looks on. Researchers like Arai believe the healthy and active Hakoishi's cells may hold the secret to living a long life.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Jan 27, 2024
Living until 100, if not forever, in good health
Immortality may be out of reach, but can a slew of research projects prolong our natural aging process?
A mid-19th century ukiyo-e woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi depicts Xu Fu’s voyage in search of the elixir of life. He can be seen near the left side of the image, with what looks to be Penglai, or Mount Fuji, in the background.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Jan 20, 2024
Eternal pursuits: A history of Japanese quests for immortality
Whether it's a permanent state of meditation or feasting on mermaid, the quest for immortality in Japan isn't too far off from those in other cultures.
Snow falls on collapsed buildings in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 7, as the area began to look toward recovery from the massive earthquake that struck on Jan. 1.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jan 17, 2024
'Noto is kind, right down to its soil': A community's long road to recovery
Volunteers are coming together to help each other in the wake of disaster. However, eventually isolated rural villages will need rethinking.
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Jan 2, 2024
Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon
From February, you can expect a rush of creativity, passion, courage and confidence with the arrival of the Wood Dragon, say astrologers.
Shinjuku's Kabukicho is filled with colorful individuals that give the neighborhood its character.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Dec 22, 2023
Christmastime in Shinjuku Golden Gai
One of Tokyo's most storied watering holes gets a little quiet during the holidays now that it relies quite a bit on tourists.
A pair of wolves carved from wood exhibited at Mitsumine Shrine’s museum in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Longform
Dec 15, 2023
In praise of wolves
Premodern Japan's reverence of wolves mirrors its close bond with nature, a state eventually disrupted by the ecological impact of industrialization.
Janos Cegledy sits in a park in Tokyo's Nerima Ward. The pianist says Japan suits him, “There is a certain civility and politeness here which you don’t find anywhere else.”
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / Longform
Dec 11, 2023
The extraordinary life of a Holocaust survivor living in Japan
Janos Cegledy tours schools, telling his story. If the students ever meet a Holocaust denier, he says, they can reply, "I met someone who was there."
Tokyo Healthcare University professor Takayuki Mifune explains how he is trying to re-create bonito broth from 1,300 years ago.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Dec 4, 2023
The quest to re-create what the Japanese ate 1,300 years ago
Professor Takayuki Mifune and his team are hoping to understand, in minute detail, the culinary habits of our Japanese ancestors.
Yoshiko Koide sits in a classroom at Nagoya College where she teaches a Japanese-language observation seminar.
LIFE / Language / Longform
Nov 27, 2023
How a dictionary came to spark outrage among the web’s otaku
A project to create a reference book categorizing subcultures didn't seem to cause offense until it was packaged and sold as a dictionary.
Japan's culture of floor-sitting stretches back to ancient times. Only in the last 60 years has it faced off against a new lifestyle brought along by the rapid spread of chairs and other high furniture.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Nov 20, 2023
Has Japan mastered sitting?
Sitting is a deceptively simple act. But the story of sitting in Japan spans centuries of culture, politics and religion.
If you spot a wild animal in the city, it's likely lost. Still, alert authorities immediately to prevent any unpleasantness.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Longform
Nov 13, 2023
The concrete forest: Bears, boars and more head to the cities
Warmer winters, less food and an aging society all play a part in why wild animals are increasingly venturing into human-populated areas.
Blair Masters and Talisker Scott Hunter pose for a photo with their kei truck, nicknamed “KT,” outside Ebisu Circuit in Fukushima Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Nov 6, 2023
The little truck that could: A fresh way to tour Japan's north
Travelers have documented almost every corner of Japan. Perhaps a new kind of adventure would be doing those same journeys by different means.
A woman walks past newly unveiled lettering that references the Oct. 29 Itaewon crush in Seoul. A more fully developed memorial was later built to commemorate the event and the more than 150 people who lost their lives.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / Longform
Oct 27, 2023
One year on, Itaewon's scars remain
A year on from the Itaewon crush, foot traffic in the Seoul neighborhood is picking back up. But what the future of the area is still in doubt.
There are a lot of reasons for why the Pacific saury is becoming scarcer, including overfishing in international waters and changing ocean conditions.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Longform
Oct 23, 2023
A saury state: How the price of 'autumn's fish' skyrocketed
A fish so cheap and abundant that even the cats would ignore it, the Pacific saury is becoming a sought-after dish as stocks dwindle.
Hiruzen Kougei employee Moeko Hirao, craft brewer “Sugichan” and furry friend Tsubu help out with the tomato harvest at 6:37 a.m.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Oct 16, 2023
The farmer's intern: A month in the Japanese countryside
Escaping the chaos of Tokyo for a month, our writer heads to rural Okayama Prefecture and discovers the delights of natural farming.
A woman takes her meal alone in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood. As the country ages, Japan's average caloric intake has been shrinking.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Oct 9, 2023
Downsizing dinner: Aging Japan is eating less
As older citizens' shrinking appetites lead to less on the plate, businesses are having to adjust to a new market.
Singer and dancer Shizuko Kasagi's life is the basis for the new morning drama series on NHK.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Longform
Oct 1, 2023
When the 'Queen of Boogie' reigned in Japan
Shizuko Kasagi gave Japan a reason to rejoice again and inspired a generation of young women in the process.
A junior high school team poses for a picture on Oct. 30, 1929, the fourth day of the fifth Meiji Shrine Games.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Sep 16, 2023
Rugby turns 200: A history of the sport in Japan
As the sport of rugby turns 200, Japan hopes to celebrate its own success in a game that first arrived in the 1860s.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for 'photo weddings'
A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
China and Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol
The Russian corvette Gromkiy enters the Chinese port of Zhanjiang as part of a joint China-Russia naval exercise on Saturday.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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