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July 03, 2026
 

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EXPATS

A Vietnamese worker picks tomatoes at a farm in Asahi, Chiba Prefecture, in 2018. Vietnamese comprised the largest percentage of foreign workers in Japan in 2025.
JAPAN
Jan 30, 2026
Foreign workers in Japan reach a record 2.57 million in 2025
The total was up 11.7% from a year earlier and comes amid an acute labor shortage in the rapidly aging country.
Travelers at Narita Airport. A new policy package from Japan's government put a spotlight on foreign patients not paying medical fees as a major topic to address, but it may not only be a matter of them dodging the bill.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 29, 2026
Are foreign nationals actually dodging their medical bills in Japan?
When it comes to foreign patients not paying their medical fees, the answer might not be that straightforward.
A native of Washington state, Roger Dahl began contributing comics and editorial cartoons to The Japan Times in 1991.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 26, 2026
‘Zero Gravity’ comes to an end, but Roger Dahl will keep drawing
The Japan Times’ long-tenured cartoonist has kept busy over the past decades — and has plenty more projects on the horizon.
The government is asking municipalities to check the nationalities of residents of public housing to address challenges such as etiquette awareness and disaster response.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2026
Japan begins survey over nationality of public housing residents
Identifying the dominant nationalities of foreign residents will help officials address challenges such as etiquette awareness and disaster response, ministry officials said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (far left) speaks in a meeting of ministers on policies regarding foreign nationals and immigration at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2026
Government unveils tighter policies on immigration and foreign residents
“We drafted this policy package to respond to citizens’ sense of anxiety and unfairness,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara.
Supporters of Sanseito, which ran with a party platform of “Japanese First” in the Upper House election, during the party’s rally in Tokyo in July 2025
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 20, 2026
Will foreign-national policies return to the spotlight in the snap election?
So far, ruling and opposition parties scrambling to prepare for the sudden snap election in February have put foreign-national issues on the backburner.
People take Japanese language lessons at a job placement company in Hanoi. Vietnamese now make up a quarter of Japan’s 2.3-million-strong foreign workforce.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jan 19, 2026
Vietnamese caught in Japan’s illegal worker crackdown
Many come to Japan under its Technical Intern Training Program, which is billed as a way for foreign workers to learn skills to take back to developing countries.
The Amtrak Cascades line provides service along the Pacific Northwest from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Eugene, Oregon.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 19, 2026
Shinkansen vs. Amtrak and the lost art of small talk
After years steeped in the sacred silence of the shinkansen, a Japan Times staffer returns stateside and gets his sea legs with small talk aboard Amtrak.
Separated into seven cantos, the 108 poems in "Borderlines" span over 15 years and blur the boundary between poetry and memoir.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 18, 2026
‘Borderlines’: A cacophony of dramatic personae unfolds a life of memories through 108 poems
With elements of both poetry and memoir, “Borderlines: An Astral Experience in Poems” by Alan Botsford, straddles the boundaries of genre.
Justin Scarpone, Sega's global head of transmedia, believes the gaming icon has all the right conditions to become a multimedia powerhouse.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 16, 2026
The American bringing a Disney flair to Sega’s nongaming push
As Sega’s global head of transmedia, Justin Scarpone sees ‘character, environments and stories’ as key to success outside gaming.
Members of the Vietnamese community take part in a Buddhist ceremony at Daionji temple in the city of Honjo, Saitama Prefecture, in August 2024. Just under half of the roughly 450,000 technical interns under Japan's Technical Intern Training Program as of June 2025 were from Vietnam.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 16, 2026
Japan is right to rethink its immigration approach
In the past decade, arrivals have surged as the population ages. The number of foreigners has doubled since 2012 to top 4 million.
"Immigration minister" Kimi Onoda and Reiko Hayashi, the director-general of the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, hold up a government expert panel's final report on recommendations for foreigner-related policies on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 14, 2026
Government panel proposes mandatory integration program for foreign residents
If adopted, foreign nationals would be required to take part in the proposed program to gain basic knowledge about Japanese society and administrative procedures.
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.
Radio hosts Floyd Gillis and Thelma Sasao, Nishinomiya residents who hail from Canada and the Philippines, respectively, record a conversation with guest Leslie Ou (right) for an episode of "Bridges Across World Communities" airing on Sakura FM.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Jan 9, 2026
Local radio connects Nishinomiya’s foreign residents
Since 2007, “Bridges Across World Communities” has been both a conversation hub and a purveyor of information to the growing population of foreign residents in this commuter town.
As head of primary at The British School in Tokyo, Eleanor Loran brings her experience working in far-flung locales like Hong Kong and New Zealand to the diverse school community in Japan.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 6, 2026
Eleanor Loran: ‘I believe in building empathy, tolerance and kindness’
A senior administrator at The British School in Tokyo shares her views on the value of international education and the challenges of maintaining a community in constant flux.
Undated photos of migrant workers and their families at the Canada Museum in Mio, Wakayama Prefecture
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2026
Tracing the family tree: Roots tourism gains traction in Japan
More and more overseas residents of Japanese descent are hoping to learn more about their family history, heritage and traditions.
Construction in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward in August
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 29, 2025
Japan should regulate land use rather than real estate purchases by foreign nationals, expert says
An expert on a panel set up by the Cabinet believes the government is better off regulating how land is used rather than who is allowed to own it.
In 2025, the 20 Questions column had 26 total interviews that offered insights into the professional, creative and personal backgrounds of people from various careers and walks of life.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 27, 2025
Finding a balance between tradition and innovation in 2025
With more than two dozen interviews throughout the year, our 20 Questions column highlighted diverse views on creativity, tradition and cultural hybridity.
Foreign technical interns working at a factory. Immigrants are rarely hired full-time or promoted to senior positions because they are still viewed as temporary fixes for short-term labor shortages.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 25, 2025
Stick over carrot approach doesn’t help foreign residents integrate, professor says
Regulatory proposals such as higher visa fees outnumber measures aimed at supporting integration, such as improving Japanese language education.
An industrial complex in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. The Mie Prefectural Government is considering stopping the hiring of foreign nationals amid concerns over leaks involving agricultural production information and residents’ personal data.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 24, 2025
Mie Prefecture considers stopping hiring foreign nationals
Officials cited concerns about information leaks, particularly in light of China’s national intelligence law requiring its citizens to cooperate with intelligence agencies.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Why is the yen so weak and what can Japan do about it?
Japan spent ¥11.7 trillion ($73 billion) between late April and late May to prop up the weak yen.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

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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