Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

COMMUNITY

Issues

Though Okinawa accounts for only 0.6% of Japan’s total land, it hosts 70.3% of exclusive-use U.S. military bases.

COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element

Mar 2, 2026

Recentering Okinawa, one story at a time

By Kris Kosaka

Through conferences, films and publications, international scholars and journalists are building bridges with Okinawan communities and amplifying the voices of local residents.

Visitors worship at a Hare Krishna temple in Nishikasai, Edogawa Ward, which became a hub for the Indian expat community in the 2000s.

COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element

Feb 23, 2026

After closures and breaks, Tokyo's 'Little India' regains its footing

By Shyam Bhardwa

The Indian cultural hub of Nishikasai in Edogawa Ward is bouncing back post-pandemic with new businesses and reprising the lively celebrations of years past.

Gordon Higgins and Chloe Douglas pose for a picture with Shorna-Kay Richards (center), Jamaica’s ambassador to Japan.

COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element

Feb 18, 2026

Tokyo LGBTQ fundraiser to raise money for Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa

By Kat Joplin

Organizers blend art, drag and Jamaican cuisine to support marginalized communities still recovering from last year’s devastating storm.

Initially attracted to Nishiogikubo for its welcoming atmosphere, Yoann Rohart (center) opened Bonjour Les Amis in 2025 and hosts game nights and French language meet-ups at the restaurant.

COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element

Feb 16, 2026

Games and gab at a French pub in western Tokyo

By Aviraj Gokool

At Bonjour Les Amis in Nishiogikubo, hearty French fare and lively game nights are bringing together a casually cosmopolitan crowd.

A craft beer brewery run by California native Brian Shevlin and his wife Mariko Furuta, Joynt Brewing Co. regularly hosts events that highlight different cultural communities.

COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element

Feb 9, 2026

Foreign residents breathe new life into bubble-era resort town

By Francisco Cheng

A spate of new businesses operated by non-Japanese residents is bringing new vitality to the seaside town of Ito with cultural events, art classes and more.

Radio hosts Floyd Gillis and Thelma Sasao, Nishinomiya residents who hail from Canada and the Philippines, respectively, record a conversation with guest Leslie Ou (right) for an episode of "Bridges Across World Communities" airing on Sakura FM.

COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element

Jan 9, 2026

Local radio connects Nishinomiya’s foreign residents

By Sneha Nagesh

Since 2007, “Bridges Across World Communities” has been both a conversation hub and a purveyor of information to the growing population of foreign residents in this commuter town.

Bilateral relations between China and Japan may be tense, but life goes on for the hundreds of thousands of Chinese people in Japan. “Politics and daily life are very separate,” says Zhang, a mother of three.

COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element

Dec 15, 2025

Japan-raised Chinese children navigate complex cultural terrain

By Yang Xiong

Despite bilateral tensions, daily life goes on for the hundreds of thousands of Chinese people who call Japan home — including the children and teenagers who have grown up here.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Amy Yee poses for a photo in Lalibela, Ethiopia. An award-winning journalist and former foreign correspondent for the Financial Times, Yee shifted her focus to the issue of Tibetans in exile for her book, “Far From the Rooftop of the World: Travels Among Tibetan Refugees on Four Continents.”

The voices of Tibet, far from home

By Michael Judge

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Imperial Hotel, Kyoto: Where hospitality traditions meet

Imperial Hotel, Kyoto: Where hospitality traditions meet

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports