japan

In this May 17, 2021, demonstrators protest against the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The IOC and Tokyo Olympic organizers run into some of the strongest medical-community opposition so far with the games set to open in just over eight weeks. 

As demand grows to cancel Tokyo Olympics, who has the power to call it off?

Tokyo Olympics

According to the latest polls, 83% of people in Japan think the Games should be postponed or scrapped entirely. But there’s been a lack of clarity about who gets to make that decision.

In this Nov. 12, 2011 file photo, workers in protective suits and masks wait to enter the emergency operation center at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in Okuma, Japan.

Author Yoichi Funabashi on Fukushima crisis 10 years later: Nuclear energy was and still is ‘unforgiving’

Takuya Yokota in Tokyo in November 2017. He continues to speak out about North Korea's abduction of his sister in 1977.

Japan could ease tensions with North Korea — if North Korea comes clean on its abduction of Japanese citizens

Conflict & Justice

Artist Factory

Arts, Culture & Media

Artist Factory

Arts, Culture & Media

Godzilla

Arts, Culture & Media

If you thought Godzilla was a symbol for the atom bomb, you were half right. He also stands in for a threat the Japanese have lived with for centuries. David Kalat, author of A Critical History of the Godzilla series, J.D. Lees of G-Fan, and Chris Holland and Scott Hamilton of stomptokyo.com connect the forces […]

Makita Man

Arts, Culture & Media

At first glance New York artist John Mahoney’s paintings look like traditional Japanese imagery with their chrysanthemum patterns and flocks of cranes. Look a little closer and you find hidden in the art are the distinctive shapes and designs of Makita brand power tools. Produced by Ilya Maritz.

Special Guest: Pico Iyer

Arts, Culture & Media

Kurt Andersen talks to Pico Iyer about airports from Hong Kong to Los Angeles to Easter Island. Pico Iyer is one of the most compelling authors on travel and global cultures. He edited the 2004 Best American Travel Writing, and his books include Video Night in Kathmandu, Abandon, and Sun After Dark: Flights into the […]

Hello Kawaii

Arts, Culture & Media

Japan has embraced cuteness with a vengeance, from the ubiquitous Hello Kitty to the successful artist-designer Takashi Murakami, the Andy Warhol of Japan. Sarah Lilley tries to figure out why an ancient culture like Japan’s would strive to be super adorable.

Shibuya-bound

Arts, Culture & Media

Watashi wa Studio 360 des… It’s t-minus 26 days until the WNYC crew arrives in Tokyo. Although our tickets are bought and our hotel is booked, we’re still amassing the tons of story ideas and contacts we’ll need to make the show. Luckily we have a fantastic team — including some key players already in […]