Alex K.T. Martin
@AlexktMartin
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Tokyo-based journalist and feature writer at The Japan Times. Previously a correspondent at The Wall Street Journal’s Tokyo bureau.
Joined March 2009
Despite long-term declines in crime, “taikan chian” (体感治安) — the public’s perceived sense of safety — is worsening in Japan. I explored the gap between data and sentiment.
japantimes.co.jp
Crime is low but anxiety is rising, fueled by demographics, social media and perception gaps shaping how safety is felt.
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Japan is one of the world’s safest countries. So why do so many people feel uneasy? This week, @AlexktMartin takes a look at crime, perception and the growing gap between data and fear. 👉 https://t.co/RlbCPFNt8p
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Wishing everyone a peaceful and healthy 2026🙏 今年もありがとうございました。 皆さまが安心して過ごせる2026年になりますように🎍
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Japan is the fastest aging nation in the world. Now that we're closer to 2050 than 2000, how will that affect the generation now coming of age? 👉 https://t.co/9i2DiGUMsJ
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For my final story of 2025, I looked ahead to the next quarter century for Japan — and the society today’s young adults may inherit as demographic decline accelerates. Thanks for reading this year, and a Happy New Year to all! 良いお年をお迎えください！🎍 https://t.co/Gm3ttoT6ia
japantimes.co.jp
By 2050, Japan’s youth will inherit a transformed country, reshaped by population decline, longer lives and unprecedented demographic imbalance.
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Japan is the fastest aging nation in the world. Now that we're closer to 2050 than 2000, how will that affect the generation now coming of age?
ebx.sh
By 2050, Japan’s youth will inherit a transformed country, reshaped by population decline, longer lives and unprecedented demographic imbalance.
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Young Japanese delinquents these days "come to us fantasising about the glitz and glamour of our world and quickly find the reality is not what they imagined," a senior #yakuza gangster allied to a major clan told @AFP in this special report
enca.com
Yakuza have long occupied a particular place in Japanese society. Technically not illegal, each group even has its own official headquarters.
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🕳️🐾🐾🐾🐀🏠🐾🐾🐾🐀🗑️🐾🐾🐾🐀🍙🐾🐾🐾🐀🏮🐾🐾🐾🐀🌃🐾🐾🐾🐀🛝🐾🐾🐾🐀🥪🐾🐾🐾🐀🏙️🐾🐾🐾🐀🗼🐾🐾🐾🕳️ I wrote about 🐀in Tokyo:
japantimes.co.jp
As Tokyo confronts stubborn rat populations, researchers argue the path forward lies in understanding their behavior — not just stamping them out.
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Tokyo’s rat population isn’t going anywhere, and a growing number of scientists say the real solution isn’t eradication but coexistence. 👉 https://t.co/33lcQlnnpf
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Back in the 2000s I’d sometimes stop by internet cafes in Tokyo — to read manga or grab a quick nap. They seemed to be everywhere back then. That got me wondering: what happened to the once-ubiquitous business? Here’s what I found out:
japantimes.co.jp
Once symbols of urban solitude, these spaces are finding new purpose as coworking hubs for a changing, wired generation.
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The image of Japan’s net cafes used to be all smoky rooms and sketchy behavior. Not anymore. Today’s spaces are sleek, clean — and affordable. 👉 https://t.co/FOM698sWq9
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The image of Japan’s net cafes used to be all smoky rooms and sketchy behavior. Not anymore. Today’s spaces are sleek, clean — and affordable.
ebx.sh
Once symbols of urban solitude, these spaces are finding new purpose as coworking hubs for a changing, wired generation.
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Tokyo’s so-called “phantom” stations no longer serve passengers and are often closed to the public👻 I explored a few of them — weathered, industrial traces of how the city has expanded, reconfigured and adapted to a growing metropolis🎃
japantimes.co.jp
A sealed 1930s subway platform beneath Shimbashi Station still holds traces of what the capital looked like before the war.
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Beneath Tokyo’s constant motion lie traces of another era. These “phantom” stations — once bustling gateways for commuters — now act as monuments to Japan’s prewar ambition and resilience. 👉 https://t.co/QAbqI1dYJW
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Dreaming of an apartment in Tokyo? Soaring prices, foreign investment and scarce supply are making that dream harder to reach. 👉 https://t.co/y9cgMDKBA0
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Tokyo apartment prices have been climbing for years now. Low rates, pandemic-driven demand for space and soaring costs pushed them higher, while the weak yen lures overseas buyers to prime areas, squeezing locals out. My story:
japantimes.co.jp
Soaring property costs, foreign investment and scarce supply are reshaping who can afford to live in central Tokyo.
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Dreaming of an apartment in Tokyo? Soaring prices, foreign investment and scarce supply are making that dream harder to reach.
ebx.sh
Soaring property costs, foreign investment and scarce supply are reshaping who can afford to live in central Tokyo.
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Couldn’t resist and picked up some sanma (Pacific saury) again tonight from my local fish shop. This time I’m pairing it with nihonshu from Tsuruoka, a city in Yamagata Prefecture and my mother’s hometown. 我慢できず、今夜も秋刀魚をいただきます。母の出身地・鶴岡の地酒とともに🍶
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おはようございます 三峯山9月27日7時30分 天候：くもり 気温17℃ 道路状況：良好 概況：青空も望めます。気温は少し低め羽織る物があってもいいかも？ 大滝トンネルが仮開通し秩父市方面からもお越し頂けます。（2輪は不可） 西武バスも運行されております！ #三峯神社 #三峰神社 #大島屋
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