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July 12, 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. He was previously a reporter at The Wall Street Journal’s Tokyo bureau. He has earned honors from the Society of Publishers in Asia and the World Association of News Publishers for stories on the Japanese wolf and the impact of the Fukushima nuclear disaster on wildlife.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 18, 2010
Yoshimoto Kogyo: Entertaining the nation
One would have to be a hermit, literally shut off from all media, to avoid exposure in Japan to the comedians and other entertainers managed by Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., the nation’s oldest and arguably most powerful entertainment agency.
JAPAN
May 15, 2010
LDP policy platform targets economy, DPJ
The Liberal Democratic Party revealed a draft Friday of its platform for the summer Upper House election, promising economic recovery and growth while vowing to end the mistakes of the Democratic Party of Japan-led government.
JAPAN
May 13, 2010
Parties pin poll hopes on sports star power
The summer Upper House election is looking increasingly like an athletic competition as both ruling and opposition parties field sports stars to woo independent voters.
JAPAN
May 11, 2010
DPJ to field judo star Tani as candidate
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan announced Monday it will field women’s judo superstar Ryoko Tani for the proportional representation segment of the summer Upper House election.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2010
Hatoyama’s plan to move marines to Tokunoshima gets icy reception
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Wednesday revealed his plan to move as many as 1,000 of the 2,500 U.S. Marines based at the Futenma air station in Okinawa to Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture during a meeting with former Lower House member Torao Tokuda, a native of Tokunoshima, Tokuda’s son...
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2010
Inquest: Ozawa merits indictment
The embattled Democratic Party of Japan-led government received another blow Tuesday when an inquest panel decided that DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa merits indictment over his funding management body’s alleged false reporting of political donations from 2004 to 2007.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2010
Masuzoe launches new party
Former health minister Yoichi Masuzoe and five other Diet lawmakers formed a new political party Friday, following three other new minor parties that hope to give voters an alternative choice in the Upper House election his summer.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2010
Small parties looking for bigger say
With the approach of the summer Upper House election, several new parties are vying for voters disenchanted with the Democratic Party of Japan, which swept to power last year on the promise of change but became mired in money scandals and accusations of poor leadership.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2010
Hatoyama’s grip weakens but DPJ short of alternatives
During a news conference in Tokyo earlier this month, veteran Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Kozo Watanabe touched on the possibility of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama stepping down if his team fails to solve the relocation conundrum involving U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma by the end of May....
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2010
Foreigner suffrage opponents rally
Conservative intellectuals and key executives from five political parties were among the thousands who gathered in Tokyo on Saturday to rally against granting foreign residents voting rights for local elections.
JAPAN / POSTAL REFORM ROLLBACK
Apr 15, 2010
Reversal on deposit limit a major gamble for DPJ
The Cabinet’s recent decision to accept a plan to double the ceiling on postal savings accounts to ¥20 million, as proposed by postal reform minister Shizuka Kamei, marks a drastic policy shift for the Democratic Party of Japan, which in the past argued the maximum should be halved from the current...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2010
LDP defectors launch new political party
Former trade minister Takeo Hiranuma and four other ex-Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers launched a new party Saturday in a bid to create a viable alternative to the dominant players ahead of this summer’s Upper House election.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2010
Wakabayashi exits Diet due to illicit votes
Former farm minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi resigned from the Diet Friday after coming under fire for manipulating a parliamentary vote earlier in the week.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2010
Child-allowance bill clears Diet
The bill to provide monthly allowances to families raising children cleared the Upper House on Friday, enabling the ruling Democratic Party of Japan to deliver on a key promise made in last year’s election campaign.
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2010
Half-year on, Hatoyama struggling
It’s been six months since Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his Cabinet strutted the red-carpet for an inaugural photo session, staging a perfect Hollywood ending to a summer blockbuster election that knocked the Liberal Democratic Party out of almost 50 years of unbroken rule.
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2010
Hatoyama’s brother quits ‘ousted’ LDP
Former internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama, whose older brother, Yukio, is the prime minister, served notice Monday that he was exiting the Liberal Democratic Party, saying he was ready to form a new force.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2010
Ishiba laments LDP’s divisions
The Liberal Democratic Party should focus on creating clear policies and restructuring and end its internal bickering, LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Shigeru Ishiba said Wednesday.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Mar 3, 2010
Decks cleared, DPJ focuses on poll
With Tuesday’s Lower House passage of the fiscal 2010 budget securing the way for its enactment by the end of March, the ruling Democratic Party of Japan will now focus on passing as many key policies as it can to bring visible results to voters before the summer Upper House election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 2, 2010
All movies subject to rating, even cuts
Moviegoers in Japan may have noticed that either during the opening or ending credits of a feature film, a mark appears on the screen bearing two kanji enclosed in a circle.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2010
Hatoyama spars with opposition
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, during his first one-on-one debate against opposition party leaders, was forced Wednesday to fend off criticism over the money scandals dogging his administration.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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