Tag - longform

 
 

LONGFORM

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Mar 7, 2025
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly
Despite longstanding taboos, evolving attitudes toward women's health highlight shifting cultural norms.
Pedestrians commute through Shibuya Station in central Tokyo, an area that is almost never devoid of people.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Mar 3, 2025
As the rest of Japan shrinks, Tokyo grows
Women and young people are leading a migratory wave that the government is struggling to halt.
The building of new high-rise residential buildings has some alarmed that they could empty and fall into disrepair as Japan's population shrinks.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 24, 2025
The high cost of letting Japan's condos crumble
With rising repair costs, dwindling reserve funds and an aging population of owners, thousands of buildings are at risk of falling into disrepair.
Tokyo Koon stands at the forefront of tackling the so-called 2025 issue, also known as the “Magnetic Tape Alert.”
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 17, 2025
The race to save 20th-century history
Analog recordings are at risk of disappearing as old tech breaks down and spare parts run out.
Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 3, 2025
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?
They're no substitute for policy, but by providing food and belonging, these safe spaces are filling in the cracks of the nation's fraying communities.
Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Jan 26, 2025
Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick
Discover the hometown of the Yoshiwara publisher who helped shape Japan’s artistic legacy and inspired NHK’s latest period drama.
Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
BUSINESS / Companies / Longform
Jan 17, 2025
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go
The CEO and president of Rapidus says the chip venture in Hokkaido is key to Japan's fortunes.
It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Jan 13, 2025
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?
Amid a push to digitalize, some experts believe citizens should have the right to stay offline.
A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Jan 1, 2025
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake
The Year of the Snake is characterized by wisdom, calm and steady progress. It urges introspection, calculated moves and a journey of reinvention.
Members of the Wajima City Morning Market Association pose for a group photograph on the site where the market once stood.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Dec 30, 2024
In the wake of disaster, the revival of Wajima's market brings hope
Wajima's morning market on the Noto Peninsula was devastated a year ago. Now, led by women vendors and bold ideas, it is rising as a symbol of resilience.
Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Dec 23, 2024
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?
Inbound tourism to Japan reached a record high in 2024, but managing the crowds and ensuring sustainability remain a challenge.
Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Dec 16, 2024
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
A year after disaster devastated the region, brewers have turned to nationwide partnerships and new technologies to sustain their culture.
People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Dec 6, 2024
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?
Japan’s suspect remedies make up 20% of the world’s market for hangover cures, but their success lies more in marketing than science.
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Dec 2, 2024
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
Shrinking funding and limited support spark fears for the country's scientific prowess moving forward.
Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Nov 25, 2024
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat
The modern sauna experience is more than just taking a seat in some steam — whisking, aufguss shows and spectacle all play a part.
Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
BUSINESS / Longform
Nov 11, 2024
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
Japan’s MICE sector is expanding rapidly, adapting with tech upgrades, flexible venues and sustainable initiatives as the Osaka Expo approaches.
Akira Oishi (left) and Shinichi Okanobori have taken on the responsibility of surveying the flora and fauna of Mount Tenran and Mount Tonosu in Saitama Prefecture.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / Longform
Nov 2, 2024
Inside Japan's 100-year project to monitor its deteriorating biodiversity
With researchers and an army of volunteers on its side, the Monitoring Sites 1,000 project aims to bring attention to our fragile ecosystems.
When Italy’s Cavour aircraft carrier visited Japan in August, it was the latest in a string of other ports of call by European nations such as Britain, Germany and France, all of whom are engaging in military and defense industry partnerships in East Asia.
ASIA PACIFIC / Longform
Oct 25, 2024
Will Europe's pivot to Asia have any teeth?
Deals are being made and carriers are making visits, but it is yet to be seen if nations on the other side of the world will come when a crisis hits.
A collage made of undated handout pictures released by the Yamagata University Institute of Nasca shows 10 of 303 new geoglyphs discovered by scientists at the university in Japan.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Oct 21, 2024
The Japanese researcher uncovering the mystery of Peru’s Nazca Lines
Masato Sakai has dedicated his career to the collection of desert etchings. AI is starting to make his work much easier.
Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
BUSINESS / Tech / Longform
Oct 12, 2024
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep
After years of sleep deficits and drowsy mornings, a growing number of products and services are being developed to help us rest easier.

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly