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April 02, 2026
 

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COMMUNITY

Voices

Our Lives
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Voices
The Austrian team at this year’s International Snow Sculpture Contest — (from left) Michelle Steinmetz, Karl Pont and Daniel Nachbaur — pose with their creation.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
In Sapporo, snow becomes a shared language
Working in temperatures as low as minus 6 degrees Celsius, artists from around the world convened in Sapporo this February to continue a tradition 50 years running.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
‘Returnees’ reckon with a Japan that sets them apart
“Kikokushijo” — Japanese youth who live abroad as children or teens and then return to Japan — and the struggles they face reflect a country unsure of what it means to be global.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Shinkansen vs. Amtrak and the lost art of small talk
After years steeped in the sacred silence of the shinkansen, a Japan Times staffer returns stateside and gets his sea legs with small talk aboard Amtrak.
Anton (right) came to Japan in 1975 and, through her participation in the community, formed long-lasting relationships with her neighbors.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 22, 2025
Making a home in Japan with holiday meals and memories
By Karen Hill Anton
An American writer reflects on Christmas cake, New Year’s food and the communities she has found in Japan over the course of 50 years.
Indonesian students at Hiroshima University hold posters of the 17+8 Demands, demanding transparency and action from their homeland’s government.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 1, 2025
Young Indonesians in Japan find their political voice
By Nadila
From Hiroshima to Tokyo, Indonesian diasporic communities in Japan are expressing their support for compatriots back home and building solidarity online and offline.
The traditional naginata is a long wooden pole with a curved blade at the end. Though the naginata used in the dojo were entirely bamboo, they nonetheless made for striking displays of power and agility.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 27, 2025
Wielding a weapon of yore at a community dojo
By Monique Bae
An American in Tokyo embarks on a thrilling course in Japanese weaponry after noticing an advertisement in her ward newspaper.
<i>Sashiko</I> dates to the Edo Period (1603-1868) and began as a technique that allowed working-class people to prolong the lifespan of their clothing.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 13, 2025
Beauty in slowness: Life lessons from Japanese embroidery
By Cassie Xu
After taking up the practice of sashiko stitching six years ago, a Chinese Canadian woman found an anchor in the traditional craft amidst major life transitions.
James Reynolds, a video producer and professional stormchaser, sets up his equipment to document Typhoon Jebi in 2018.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Sep 22, 2025
When a typhoon isn’t really a typhoon, I’ll be there to tell you about it
By Daniel Traylor
The nomenclature and strict definition of what constitutes a typhoon are not as straightforward as most people might think.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Swastika Jajoo (fourth from right) began attending the daily radio calisthenics routine at Sendai’s Kitasanbancho Park and struck up unexpected friendships with a group of elderly residents.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Sep 15, 2025
Calisthenic companions bridge cultures and generations
By Swastika Jajoo
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a doctoral student in Sendai found friendship in unexpected places.
Francisco Villarreal moved to Japan in 2014 to attend a teacher training program and has forged deep ties to the kindergarten in Tokyo's Asakusa district where he has worked since 2018.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Aug 11, 2025
Kindred spirits, kindergarten connections: From Buenos Aires to east Tokyo
By Francisco J. Villarreal
An Argentinian teacher finds echoes of his hometown in the working-class neighborhoods of eastern Tokyo.

Former mayor of Ito indicted after allegedly falsifying academic record
Maki Takubo, former mayor of Ito in Shizuoka Prefecture, was indicted without arrest on Monday by public prosecutors on suspicion of violations including contravening the local autonomy law through alleged academic fraud.
ADHD medication in short supply in Japan as demand soars
Concerta, an ADHD drug marketed by Janssen Pharmaceutical, is in short supply in Japan as demand has climbed recently.
JMA warns of potential tremors throughout the week after magnitude 5.0 quake
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures on Wednesday morning.
Japan’s 'counterstrike capability' takes shape with missile deployments
Kumamoto Gov. Takashi Kimura (left) and city of Kumamoto Mayor Kazufumi Onishi (second from left) speak to reporters after viewing upgraded Type-12 surface-to-ship missile systems (seen in the background), which have a range of about 1,000 kilometers, at the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Camp Kengun in the city of Kumamoto on March 17.
Yemen's Houthis enter Iran war with attacks on Israel, as U.S. Marines arrive in region
Young Houthi supporters hold weapons during a rally in solidarity with Tehran and Beirut, amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Friday.
Japan’s 'counterstrike capability' takes shape with missile deployments
Kumamoto Gov. Takashi Kimura (left) and city of Kumamoto Mayor Kazufumi Onishi (second from left) speak to reporters after viewing upgraded Type-12 surface-to-ship missile systems (seen in the background), which have a range of about 1,000 kilometers, at the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Camp Kengun in the city of Kumamoto on March 17.
ADHD medication in short supply in Japan as demand soars
Concerta, an ADHD drug marketed by Janssen Pharmaceutical, is in short supply in Japan as demand has climbed recently.
What happens when Japan curates its aesthetic for the world?
The Sui Collection, a Cabinet Office-backed showcase of traditional Japanese artisanship, is visually stunning, but what is lost in translation when the state is a partner in cultural communication?
With the end of 3G, Japan's beloved flip phones go dark
Japan was the first country in the world to adopt 3G, but this month, it cuts off access to the obsolete wireless network for good.
Japan to tighten requirements for naturalization starting April 1
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi speaks to reporters 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

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

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Imperial Hotel, Kyoto: Where hospitality traditions meet
Imperial Hotel, Kyoto: Where hospitality traditions meet

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