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In Tokyo, some public toilets inspire wonder

Japan in Focus

In Shibuya, a busy ward in Tokyo, Japan, officials want public toilets to inspire wonder. They’ve recently started a tour of 17 bathroom facilities designed by world-class artists and architects. The World’s Patrick Winn reports.

A portrait of Sasami from her self-titled LP, "Sasami."

‘It’s all mixed’: Sasami makes music inspired by her multicultural heritage 

Movement
A few customers sneak into a card shop just before closing time in Akihabara, Tokyo.

Pokémon fever once again grips fans around the world

Arts, Culture & Media
two actors pretending to fight

Tokyo’s trash-collecting samurai takes a fun, zany approach to cleanup

Customers get out their smartphones and go silent as Shizuo Mori begins his pudding-fling serving technique that made him a viral sensation.

This 80-year-old pudding maker in Tokyo goes viral for his flan-flinging flair

Food
sushi restaurant facade

Japanese restaurants use AI to combat sushi terrorism

​​​​​​​The latest disturbing TikTok trend in Japan features young pranksters who are contaminating sushi that is served on conveyor belts in restaurants. They share videos of themselves licking sushi rolls or otherwise contaminating plates and condiments. Some restaurants are using AI to fight back.

man speaking at podium

Japan’s infamous ‘happy’ cult sets sights on the United States

Sacred Nation

Happy Science is among the most enduring and far-reaching “new religious movement,” as they’re called in Japan. 

The Manuscript Café in Tokyo helps writers to bring their projects to completion.

Tokyo café specializes in aiding procrastinators 

A café manager in Tokyo has developed a particular method to help writers struggling with procrastination complete their work.

Japan's outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to the media as he arrives at the prime minister's office for a cabinet meeting in Tokyo, Japan

Japan’s ex-leader Shinzo Abe assassinated during a speech

Obituary

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was delivering a campaign speech when a gunman shot him from behind. “Japan is in a state of shock. It is a tragic and unprecedented attack,” reporter Thisanka Siripala tells The World’s host Marco Werman.

People walk across the famed Shibuya scramble crossing as the sun sets behind the skyscraper, Oct. 11, 2021, in Tokyo.

A Tokyo train company moves to become net-carbon neutral

Energy

Last month, one railway network in Tokyo switched its entire network to electricity derived from renewable energy. It’s the first time a railway has become entirely net-carbon neutral.

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