After a long ride, will anyone save this Tokyo carousel?
More than 110 years after its creation in Germany, the future of Toshimaen's El Dorado merry-go-round now seems uncertain.
View ArticleThe pressure to be perfect turns deadly for celebrities in Japan
Yuko Takeuchi is the latest in a succession of suicides that has shown the burdens of a society where many feel that they must conceal ...
View ArticleAs pandemic took hold, suicide rose among Japanese women
In Japan, 6,976 women took their lives last year, nearly 15% more than in 2019. It was the first year-over-year increase in more than a ...
View ArticleDeaths in Japan fall for the first time in more than a decade
The health ministry reported that the number of deaths across the nation dropped by more than 9,300 in 2020 to around 1.4 million.
View ArticleAnime is booming. So why are animators living in poverty?
The workers who make the Japanese shows the world is binge-watching can earn as little as $200 a month. Many wonder how much longer they ...
View ArticleOlympics gave hope to Japan’s LGBTQ activists. But old prejudices die hard.
Even a modest goal of labeling discrimination "unacceptable” has proved too much for conservative lawmakers, who have blocked consideration of a bill by the Diet.
View ArticleA digital calico is melting hearts (and napping a lot)
The cat has drawn crowds and sparked joy on social media.
View ArticleThe Olympic mascots aren’t winning any medals
Before the pandemic, the Japanese designer who created the Olympic and Paralympic mascots predicted that they would become the "face of the Games.” It hasn’t ...
View ArticleTokyo was promised glory and riches. It got an Olympics in a bubble.
The Games failed to live up to their economic promise and cast a harsh light on Japan’s political culture. Some feel “a hunger for a ...
View ArticleDisabled Japanese are often invisible. Will Paralympics bring lasting light?
Tokyo improved its infrastructure before the Games, but activists wonder how long the focus will continue in a country with a long history of excluding ...
View ArticleDiscreetly, the young in Japan chip away at a taboo on tattoos
Exposed to body art on social media, more young Japanese are getting tattoos, even if that means hiding them at work.
View ArticleJapan says it needs nuclear power. Can host towns ever trust it again?
The decision to restart plants is fraught with emotions, not to mention the gargantuan technical task of fortifying the stations against future disasters in an ...
View ArticleRushdie attack recalls 1991 killing of his Japanese translator
Hitoshi Igarashi was stabbed to death at Tsukuba University, where he taught comparative Islamic culture — the crime remains unsolved.
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View ArticleBeauty over brains: Japan’s skin-deep university pageants
The contests perpetuate a culture that often places women in rigid gender roles, and have seen some contestants face abuse and harassment from organizers.
View ArticleAs Asian societies age, ‘retirement’ just means more work
Across East Asia, populations are graying faster than anywhere else in the world, and while younger generations shrink, older workers are often toiling well into ...
View ArticleAsia is loosening rules on masks. Here’s why people still wear them.
Many other countries dropped pandemic mask requirements months ago. But in places like South Korea, which got rid of its rule this week, masks remain ...
View ArticleA Japanese island where the wild things are
From badgering nuisances to downright evil forces, yōkai fill some of the most colorful corners of Japanese folklore. These artists are dreaming up even more.
View ArticleThe religious right’s hidden sway as Japan trails allies on gay rights
As a G7 summit nears in Hiroshima, Japan is under pressure to show greater support for equality. A national Shinto group has spread a more ...
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