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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
May 20, 2009
Launch of DPJ executive lineup draws flak for Ozawa role
New Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama officially launched his executive lineup Tuesday, with Katsuya Okada, his rival in the party leadership race, as secretary general and former DPJ boss Ichiro Ozawa as deputy party chief in charge of election strategy.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
May 19, 2009
Bike ride puts new spin on fund-raising
On a cloudy Friday morning late last month, 11 bicycle riders gathered on the playground of Meisei Gakuen school for the deaf in Shinagawa, Tokyo, to kick off a 1,250-km fund-raising bike ride to support the children attending the school.
JAPAN
May 16, 2009
Bill would allow organ harvesting from children with parental OK
As pressure mounts to revise the controversial organ transplant law, lawmakers across party lines submitted a fresh bill Friday to the Diet on top of the three bills that are already being deliberated.
JAPAN
May 15, 2009
Ozawa to still play key role, rivals vow
Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama and deputy chief Katsuya Okada, the two candidates running in Saturday’s DPJ presidential race, said Thursday resigning President Ichiro Ozawa will still serve in a key post.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 14, 2009
Okada, Hatoyama enter race
Democratic Party of Japan Vice President Katsuya Okada and DPJ Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama declared Wednesday they will enter the race to replace President Ichiro Ozawa, who announced his resignation earlier in the week under a cloud of scandal.
JAPAN / Q&A
May 12, 2009
Historic change puts justice in public hands
With the “saibanin” lay judge system set to take effect May 21, Japan is gearing up for an important transition in its judicial system, in which citizens begin serving as de facto jurors in district court trials involving serious crimes.
JAPAN
May 6, 2009
Calls to revise organ law grow as lawmakers debate various plans
When Yasuto Katagiri asked New York’s Columbia University in February to perform a heart transplant on Hoku, his 2-year-old son suffering from a rare form of heart disease called restrictive cardiomyopathy, the university had to turn him down because its 5 percent limit for accepting foreign transplant...
JAPAN
May 2, 2009
American missing on volcanic island is award-winning poet, assistant professor
The missing American man last seen Monday on Kuchinoerabu Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, is an award-winning poet and assistant professor at a U.S. university, according to his family and the school.
JAPAN
May 2, 2009
Power struggle rages in North over Kim’s heir
As succession speculation abounds amid reports of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s deteriorating health, a recently obtained confidential report has shed new light on a power struggle taking place in the reclusive state.
JAPAN
May 1, 2009
American hiker believed missing on volcanic isle off Yakushima
A man in his 40s has been missing since Monday, when he was last seen at the head of a mountain trail on Kuchinoerabu, a volcanic island 12 km off Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, Yakushima police said.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Apr 28, 2009
Tokyo 2.0 a buzzing hub for online communities, entrepreneurs
For one night every month, Roppongi’s artsy underground event space SuperDeluxe turns into a networking hub for the Internet junkies dwelling in the capital’s vast urban sprawl.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 21, 2009
The past, present and future of fortunetelling
From the traditional “omikuji” — sacred lots — people draw at shrines and temples to learn their New Year’s fortunes, to the horoscopes displayed on commuter train video screens to distract strap-hangers, Japanese society is immersed in fortunetelling.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2009
Japan Web site a life-time labor of love
When Stefan Schauwecker first launched japan-guide.com in 1996 while still a student in Canada, the Web site only featured an A to Z section on Japanese culture — “just a basic intro to Japan, a guide to look up cultural stuff and a little bit of history,” the Swiss native recalled.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2009
Launch plan sets off surveillance frenzy
As tension mounts ahead of North Korea’s plan to launch a rocket over this country, Japan, the United States and South Korea are deploying several high-tech surveillance ships to monitor what the three allies suspect will actually be a ballistic missile test.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2009
SDF gets intercept order
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered the Self-Defense Forces on Friday to shoot down any part of a North Korean rocket that might fall toward Japanese territory.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2009
When push comes to shove, can Japan shoot down missile?
First of two parts
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2009
China, tourism feature in huge ‘anime’ convention
The Tokyo International Anime Fair 2009 kicked off Wednesday to a cheerful start, featuring a mix of both domestic and overseas companies presenting their newest products and exploring new marketing methods ranging from “anime” tourism to online broadcasting.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Mar 17, 2009
Headmaster studies layers of the Japan onion
When Timothy Carr arrived in Japan in 2003, the punctuality and caution he saw people investing in the maintenance of order immediately struck him as fascinating.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Mar 7, 2009
Couple’s married life off to auspicious start
When Joyce Lam took Koji Kobayashi to meet her parents in Hong Kong in January 2008, they reminded her that, as the Year of the Golden Pig, 2007 was the most auspicious year to tie the knot in 60 years.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2009
Future of ‘anime’ industry in doubt
After graduating from Tokyo Animator College, Yuko Matsui began working at a midscale animation production agency.
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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