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April 14, 2026
 

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Alex K.T. Martin

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Alex K.T. Martin
Alex K.T. Martin is a Tokyo-based journalist and senior writer at The Japan Times, primarily focusing on feature stories. Previously he was a Tokyo correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.
Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Apr 13, 2026
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
91²Ö¿â temples experiment with artificial intelligence as questions of faith, presence and care grow more urgent.
Nearly half of Japan¡¯s population suffers from hay fever, fueled by pollen from vast cedar and cypress plantations.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / Longform
Mar 23, 2026
The human-made roots of 91²Ö¿â hay fever crisis
Efforts to thin forests and breed low-pollen cedar advance, even as labor gaps and neglected land complicate the work.
Haruna Kambayashi stands by her newly purchased home on a street now lined with mostly empty lots.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Mar 9, 2026
15 years after the Tohoku quake, the road home remains uncertain for many
In once-abandoned communities, life is cautiously returning as policymakers confront the staggering price of future recoveries.
The Kongo family¡¯s residence and workshop in the Taisho Era, photographed about a century ago.
BUSINESS / Companies / Longform
Feb 9, 2026
What keeps Japan¡¯s 1,000-year-old companies alive?
Across religion, hospitality and the arts, the country¡¯s oldest institutions show how craft and continuity can endure.
The reflection of one of Ueno Zoo¡¯s twin pandas is seen at their enclosure. The animals¡¯ popularity has prompted concern among local businesses that their departure could hurt foot traffic in surrounding neighborhoods.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jan 23, 2026
What happens when the pandas leave Ueno?
The return of Ueno Zoo¡¯s last giant pandas underscores how an animal became a diplomatic symbol ¡ª and what happens when that symbol is withdrawn.
Posts and videos shared on social media have amplified fears about crime in Japan, with unverified claims spreading faster than official crime statistics.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jan 12, 2026
Japan is safe. Why do the Japanese feel unsafe?
Crime is low but anxiety is rising, fueled by demographics, social media and perception gaps shaping how safety is felt.
As Japan¡¯s population ages, fewer workers will be supporting more dependents, reshaping the country¡¯s social and economic balance.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Dec 29, 2025
On to 2050: Life in a shrinking Japan
By 2050, Japan¡¯s youth will inherit a transformed country, reshaped by population decline, longer lives and unprecedented demographic imbalance.
Brown rats, also known as sewer rats, often burrow into damaged pipes and survive on garbage and food scraps. While there aren¡¯t any official numbers, at least hundreds of thousands of them are thought to be living in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Dec 8, 2025
In the company of rats: Tokyo's growing rodent problem
As Tokyo confronts stubborn rat populations, researchers argue the path forward lies in understanding their behavior ¡ª not just stamping them out.
Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
BUSINESS / Companies / Longform
Nov 3, 2025
The second life of 91²Ö¿â net cafes
Once symbols of urban solitude, these spaces are finding new purpose as coworking hubs for a changing, wired generation.
Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Oct 27, 2025
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations ¡ª?and the stories they tell
A sealed 1930s subway platform beneath Shimbashi Station still holds traces of what the capital looked like before the war.
Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo¡¯s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Sep 29, 2025
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?
Soaring property costs, foreign investment and scarce supply are reshaping who can afford to live in central Tokyo.
Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Sep 15, 2025
Rethinking that second drink: Japan¡¯s Gen Z gets ¡®sober curious¡¯
Young Japanese are saying no to booze ¡ª and yes to mocktails, gaming and sober nights out. Breweries are pivoting to meet them.
Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Aug 22, 2025
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor¡¯s account of Tokyo¡¯s postwar past
One man¡¯s experience traces the capital's arc from wartime devastation to modern megacity in a story of resilience and reinvention.
Police officers ask a man to evacuate from an empty beach following a tsunami warning, in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2025
Japan on edge but prepared for tsunami after huge Kamchatka earthquake
Tsunami waves measuring up to 1.3 meters were observed off the Pacific coast of Japan, with authorities urging people in coastal areas to evacuate to higher ground.
In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jul 21, 2025
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan
AI chatbots are becoming stand-ins for pets and partners ¡ª offering comfort, connection and raising new concerns.
Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 30, 2025
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji¡¯s deadliest weekend still echoes today. Luckily, area rescue squads have leveled up their game.
The classic red brick arches of Tokyo¡¯s first ¡°gš¡do-shita,¡± built in 1910, are what most Japanese people think of when they think about commercial spaces under elevated railways.
LIFE / Style & Design / Longform
Jun 16, 2025
Revitalizing the space under Tokyo¡¯s train tracks
Rail underpasses in big cities are being transformed into vibrant spaces for artisans, foodies and travelers ¡ª without erasing their past.
After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture ¡ªlife¡¯s too short, after all.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 2, 2025
How 91²Ö¿â youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
Labor shortages and shifting mindsets are driving younger Japanese workers to challenge the country¡¯s traditional office culture.
A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
May 19, 2025
That sinking feeling: Japan¡¯s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb
A tragic accident in Saitama shows how aging pipes, soft soil and climate threats are straining the country¡¯s infrastructure.
A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / Longform
Apr 28, 2025
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
Last year the government issued its first "megaquake" advisory. Ever since, those living in the areas it's expected to hit have been preparing for the worst.
Japanese researchers look at 800-year-old books and trees for signs of extreme solar events
A drawing of Fujiwara no Teika, known as a courtier, <i>waka</i> poet and scholar of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods
Debt-laden Japan should review spending on gender equality, survey finds
A woman holds a handheld fan bearing the image of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi&#039;s wedding photo, during an election campaign event in Tokyo on Feb. 7.
Jehovah's Witnesses followers sue Japanese government
According to court records, the plaintiffs include the Japanese branch of Jehovah&#039;s Witnesses in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Chinese payment apps raise questions in Japan
Alipay has been mentioned by legislators in discussions about the use of foreign payment apps in Japan.
At Ueno Station, ¡®Freedom¡¯ restored
¡°Freedom,¡± a mural in JR Ueno Station, created in 1951, has been repaired three times, most recently in 2025.
Where Tokyo goes to sweat and soak
As Tokyo&#039;s public bathhouses age, many are embracing more contemporary aesthetics to stay relevant for a younger class of customer.
At Ueno Station, ¡®Freedom¡¯ restored
¡°Freedom,¡± a mural in JR Ueno Station, created in 1951, has been repaired three times, most recently in 2025.
Inside Iizukatei, a 200-year-old home turned boutique hotel in Tochigi
Recognized as a tangible cultural property in 2003, the former residence of the Iizuka family is now a boutique hotel in Nakagawa, Tochigi Prefecture.
Tokyo¡¯s sake calendar is filled to the brim
The recently concluded Sake Park invited younger brewers to make sake more approachable for attendees in their 20s and 30s.
Japan¡¯s tighter immigration controls yielding results
An immigration control passport stamp issued in Japan. A surge in arrivals from overseas has coincided with a tightening of immigration controls under a government initiative aimed at reducing overstayers.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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