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TOKYO

People offer prayers at a memorial hall in Tokyo's Sumida Ward on Friday, the centenary of the Great Kanto Earthquake.
JAPAN / History
Sep 1, 2023
Japan marks centenary of Great Kanto Earthquake disaster
Ceremonies were held across the country to honor those who lost their lives in the magnitude-7.9 temblor and ensuing fire.
Veteran broadcaster and DJ Peter Barakan has been a fixture in Japanese music media for decades. He is now in his third year as curator and namesake of Peter Barakan’s Music Film Festival, which kicks off in Tokyo today.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 1, 2023
Peter Barakan's Music Film Festival celebrates cinema and song
The three-week event kicks off its third edition with 31 films including documentaries, concert films and narrative films centered on music.
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.
In its quake damage estimates updated last year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government expects that 4.53 million people will be unable to return home in the aftermath of a massive quake hitting the capital.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2023
Over-concentration in Tokyo raising risks from possible quake
The government estimate that up to 23,000 people would be killed if a massive quake hits the capital.
Union workers of Sogo & Seibu hold banners which read 'on strike' in front of the company's flagship Seibu Ikebukuro store in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023
Sogo & Seibu labor union begins strike at flagship Ikebukuro store
While the labor union made a strong effort to prevent Seven & I from proceeding with the deal, a decision was made to sell the department store unit.
Sogo & Seibu's labor union holds a news conference on Monday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 30, 2023
Sogo & Seibu labor union to launch rare strike after talks break down
Around 900 workers at Ikebukuro's flagship will participate in what will be the first strike at a Japanese department store in about 60 years.
A woman takes a blood test to check concentrations of PFAS chemicals in February in the city of Fuchu, Tokyo.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 28, 2023
'Forever chemicals' from U.S. base in Tokyo fueling residents' fears
Other parts of Japan hosting U.S. bases have also detected high PFAS concentrations at rivers and other water sources, prompting a demand for inspections.
For drinks surrounded by some of Tokyo’s sleekest skyscrapes, Marunouchi House’s rooftop terrace can’t be beat.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Top 5
Aug 27, 2023
Skyline sips: Tokyo’s best rooftop bars
Instead of relegating it to a cherry blossom-related niche, Tokyo is recognizing the allure of drinking outside.
Since Waifu began, inclusivity goals have become more common in clubs across Tokyo.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 26, 2023
Queer clubbing moves beyond Ni-chome
Those looking for a safe space to party don't have to stick to one neighborhood in the capital.
Koenji-based dance troupe Tengu-ren performs at an Awa odori event in Tokyo's Kagurazaka neighborhood a month before the Koenji Awa Odori.
CULTURE / Longform
Aug 26, 2023
The party returns to Koenji
While the COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary pause to one of Tokyo’s biggest festivals, its dancers never stopped practicing their steps.
Infielder Jose Osuna is two home runs away from his second straight 20-homer season for the Swallows.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Aug 25, 2023
Confident Jose Osuna says Swallows just have to keep fighting
Jose Osuna still has faith in the Swallows despite the team's underwhelming performance this season.
Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday after meeting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 25, 2023
LDP and Komeito to revive Tokyo election cooperation
The move came after the Komeito side softened its stance toward the LDP after friction earlier this year.
The Tokyo core consumer price index rose 2.8% in August from a year earlier, slowing for the second straight month but remaining well above the central bank's 2% target.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 25, 2023
Inflation in Tokyo slowed in August but stayed above BOJ target
The Tokyo core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food but includes fuel costs, rose 2.8% in August from a year earlier.
A woman stands on one side of the wall texting in front of a nightclub while, on the other side of the wall, a man works in an izakaya.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 24, 2023
One night out in Tokyo
As the last trains leave the central hubs of Shinjuku and Shibuya for the suburbs, much of the city heads home. However, Tokyo never sleeps.
Yuko Seimei was promoted to president of Monex Group in June, after serving as president of affiliate Monex.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 24, 2023
More brokerages name female leadership amid pressure for change
The government wants women to account for at least 30% of board members at firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's top-tier Prime section by 2030.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested two men it suspects of involvement in faxing 300,000 bomb threats to schools, firms and local governments.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 23, 2023
Two men arrested for sending bomb threat to Tokyo college
The pair were arrested on suspicion of sending a fax to Tokyo College of Music stating that 334 bombs were planted at the school and demanding ¥300,000.
The Nakamise shopping street in Tokyo's Asakusa district under reconstruction after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake. This photograph was colorized with the cooperation of Hidenori Watanave, a professor of the University of Tokyo.
JAPAN / History
Aug 21, 2023
Colorized photos of 1923 Tokyo quake to be displayed
The photos of the 1923 disaster will be displayed as part of an exhibition set to start at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo on Sept. 1.
An area congested with wooden houses in Tokyo's Higashi-Ikebukuro district
JAPAN / Society
Aug 20, 2023
Tokyo aiming to eliminate areas congested with wooden houses
As of 2020, Tokyo had some 8,600 hectares of such areas that are expected to suffer particularly severe damage in the event of a large quake.
At the inaugural World Lambrusco Day held this June, the sparkling wine took center stage beneath the Eiffel Tower.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 20, 2023
Passe or sparkling, Lambrusco can get you through a Tokyo summer
Fizzy, fruity and tantalizingly affordable, the sparkling red wine from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region is a convivial antidote to the summertime blues.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals