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March 07, 2026
 

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Eric Margolis
Eric Margolis is a writer, book editor and translator from Japanese who is based in Tokyo. His writing has been published in The Japan Times, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, Slate, The New Republic, Tokyo Weekender and elsewhere.
As Japan accelerates AI adoption, policymakers and corporations frame the technology as essential to offsetting a projected labor shortfall of 11 million workers by 2040.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Mar 2, 2026
Japan is betting big on AI. Few workers have used it.
Surveys show strong public confidence, despite shallow workplace adoption and unresolved cultural concerns.
Tokyo¡¯s Jimbocho neighborhood has all kinds of bookshops and cafes, but it is mainly known for its abundance of stores selling secondhand books.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 2, 2026
Inside a Japanese bookshop: Words you need to browse in Jimbocho
Decode shelving systems, publisher groupings and reader slang before making the most of Tokyo¡¯s famed literary district.
W. David Marx¡¯s new book, "Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century," argues radical cultural innovation has become increasingly scarce.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 21, 2026
The critic who ruffled pop culture¡¯s feathers
In ¡°Blank Space,¡± W. David Marx questions the 21st century¡¯s creative vitality and responds to critics who say he¡¯s too cynical.
Japanese trains are usually full of advertisements that all fight for your attention.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 2, 2026
How Japanese advertising breaks grammar to get your attention
Japanese advertising may look chaotic, but the strange grammar, puns and omissions are carefully engineered to grab your attention.
A fishing boat sails out to sea in Tosa Bay off Kochi Prefecture in May 2022. As the planet warms, fish native to Japanese waters are swimming from south to north in pursuit of their desired temperatures.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Jan 11, 2026
How Japan¡¯s warming seas are affecting livelihoods and culture
As climate change forces fish to migrate to cooler waters, culture and jobs are being left behind in their wake.
There are more tools in the Japanese songwriter's toolbox than rhymes alone.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 19, 2025
Why Japanese musicians don¡¯t need rhymes to sing
Japanese pop rarely relies on rhyme. Instead, its lyrics draw power from mora-based rhythm, repetition, sound symbolism and traditional poetic devices.
Located just one stop away from Shinjuku on the Yamanote Line, Shin-Okubo has long been known as Tokyo¡¯s Koreatown ¡ª but in recent years, a range of immigrant communities from across the Asian continent have made it a hotspot for food, services and even spirituality.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Nov 24, 2025
A perfect day in Shin-Okubo, more than just Tokyo¡¯s Koreatown
Long known as Tokyo¡¯s Korean enclave, Shin-Okubo has grown even more multicultural over the years in everything from its restaurant options to its spiritual sites.
Noh theater uses several types of masks, including the "onna" (woman) mask.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 6, 2025
Learning to feel noh: The words that unlock its mystery and emotion
Noh theater¡¯s mystery and emotion unfold through careful understanding of the language used.
While Kyoto's Kiyomizu Temple is a famous spot for viewing the autumn foliage, Japan has no shortage of colorful forests.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 16, 2025
The what, where and when of Japan¡¯s autumn leaves
Autumn in Japan is a lesson in color and language ¡ª learn how to ask the right questions when it comes to hunting fall foliage.
Data storage tapes at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center facility in Berkeley, California. Data centers consume massive amounts of electricity and water, and that will only rise as generative artificial intelligence takes off in earnest.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Sep 28, 2025
Japan faces fresh energy challenge as it seeks to expand power-hungry data centers
The growth could have major effects on both Japan¡¯s standing in the fight against climate change and its industrial competitiveness on the world stage.
An illustration of a scene from the fourth act of "Aoto Z¨­shi Hana no Nishiki-e" by Toyokuni Utagawa III (1862).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 26, 2025
Take your first steps into the world of kabuki with these basic terms
The language of Japanese theater is full of double ¡ª even triple ¡ª meanings. Knowing the terminology is the first step in understanding it.
Located in Nagano Prefecture, Samurai Gakuen tries to help young and old individuals who have withdrawn from society rediscover their places out in the world.
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 31, 2025
How ¡®hikikomori¡¯ shut-ins ¡®start to have dreams for the future¡¯
As many as 1.5 million ¡°hikikomori¡± shut-ins withdraw from social life in Japan, but one school in Nagano is finding success is coaxing them back into the world.
Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / Longform
May 26, 2025
Do 91²Ö¿â trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?
Trees have long occupied a sacred place in Japanese culture. In the fast pace of the 21st century, however, they're increasingly losing out to progress.
Not only is the drawing of each frame an important part of the manga-making process, translation has increasingly demanded more attention as the art form gains popularity overseas.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 23, 2025
Manga translators walk a fine line between meaning and mayhem
Manga translators face linguistic puzzles, cultural minefields and online backlash ¡ª all for the love of a perfectly written speech bubble.
Kotoba Slam Japan runs regional competitions to select a representative for the annual World Poetry Slam Championship, which will take place in Mexico at the end of the month.
CULTURE / Stage
May 9, 2025
Japan¡¯s slam poetry scene is all about raw vulnerability
Slam poetry is a rarity in Japan, but the scene is full of energy and potential that the poets have been bringing to the world slam poetry stage for 10 years now.
Customers line up patiently for some early-afternoon baked goods outside Truffle, which is located close to Hiroo Station on the Hibiya Line.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Apr 13, 2025
How to spend the perfect day in Hiroo, Tokyo¡¯s expat enclave
A stroll through Hiroo reveals both the comforts of expat luxury and the quiet intrusions of a changing Tokyo.
Graduation ceremonies in Japan will usually include a performance of the Japanese national anthem, ¡°Kimigayo.¡±
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 28, 2025
Attempting the classics: The world of waka poetry
The origins of this poetry style stretch back to at least the seventh century, when one of the emperor's wives composed it at court ceremonies.
While climate demonstrations around the world often draw thousands of participants, in Japan such demonstrations rarely break the 100-person barrier.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Mar 16, 2025
Japan¡¯s youth climate activists still searching for a breakthrough
With Japan endorsing climate targets criticized as unambitious, activists are looking to education and more tailored strategies to make an impact.
¡°May You Have Delicious Meals¡± focuses on a trio of young office workers at the same workplace who have mixed feelings for food and each other.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 8, 2025
¡®May You Have Delicious Meals¡¯: The ugly taste of office and gender politics
The English-language debut of Junko Takase¡¯s Akutagawa Prize-winning novel serves complex prose in translation by Morgan Giles.
Jose Ando purposefully wrote his Akutagawa Prize-winning novel ¡°Dtopia¡± to be accessible to an audience beyond Japan and to spark conversations about race, gender and the effects of modern entertainment.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 27, 2025
Jose Ando's rapid rise from first pages to the Akutagawa Prize
Just three years after dedicating himself to writing, the author won 91²Ö¿â top literary award for his novel "Dtopia," which offers a fresh perspective on identity and diversity.
Drones and missiles: U.S. Marines in Okinawa evolve for sea-denial role
Lt. Gen. Roger Turner, commanding general of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, speaks to marines and sailors aboard the amphibious assault ship USS America at Naval Base White Beach in Okinawa Prefecture on Aug. 10.
Japan¡¯s national museums to implement dual-pricing system
Admission fees for the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo and 11 other state-run museums are set to increase for visitors from outside Japan.
Three arrested over illegal hiring of Vietnamese workers in Japan
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested three men over alleged involvement in employing Vietnamese nationals without work permits in Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Violence in sumo provokes anger but little surprise
Terunofuji pictured at Isegahama stable on Jan. 29, 2024
Netflix deal shuts out Japan¡¯s sports bars from freely showing WBC
Fans watching from Tokyo react after Japan beat the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic in March 2023.
Cherry blossom season set to begin up to a week earlier than usual
Cherry blossoms are expected to bloom earlier than usual this year, with flowering forecast to begin in Nagoya on March 17 and in Tokyo on March 19, according to Japan Meteorological Corp.
Taiwan¡¯s FM calls for Taipei to be part of 'first island chain' security framework
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung speaks during an interview last week in Taipei. Lin has called on Japan and other partners to step up cooperation in areas such as intelligence-sharing, joint exercises, defense-industry tie-ups, data links and dealing with hybrid threats such as China¡¯s gray-zone activities.
Netflix deal shuts out Japan¡¯s sports bars from freely showing WBC
Fans watching from Tokyo react after Japan beat the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic in March 2023.
¡®My hope has fear inside it¡¯: Iranians in Japan react to attacks back home
Somayyeh Mehri speaks in an interview on Monday in Tokyo. The psychological weight of watching events unfold from Japan is gut-wrenching for Mehri.
Shohei Ohtani returns to Japan as the center of attention ahead of WBC
Shohei Ohtani is back with Samurai Japan for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Ohtani was the MVP of the 2023 tournament.

Podcast

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

Longform

As Japan accelerates AI adoption, policymakers and corporations frame the technology as essential to offsetting a projected labor shortfall of 11 million workers by 2040.
Japan is betting big on AI. Few workers have used it.
By Eric Margolis

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