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July 24, 2026
 

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AINU

Two Ainu men sit in front of an altar during a memorial service for Ainu people killed by <i>wajin</i> (ethnic Japanese) in a 15th-century battle in Kaminokuni, Hokkaido, in 2019.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jul 20, 2026
With lawsuit over remains, Ainu continue fight for cultural recognition
The Shibechari Ainu Tribe in Hokkaido hopes the lawsuit will set a legal precedent that helps address the injustices stemming from the removal of Ainu remains from their graves.
No need to go foraging for one of bears&#039; favorite wild vegetables for this dish ¡ª just pick it up at your local farmer&#039;s market instead.
LIFE / Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
Jun 28, 2026
Smash tacos with bear-approved veggies
Alpine leeks are a forageable example of the ¡°sansai¡± (wild edible plants) that make springtime a bounty of flavors across Japan¡¯s countryside ¡ª for humans and bear-kind alike.
Members of the Hokkaido Ainu Association place returned remains in a cemetery at the national Ainu cultural facility and perform a memorial service on Friday in Shiraoi, Hokkaido.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
May 9, 2026
Ainu indigenous group demands return of ancestors¡¯ remains
The group filed a lawsuit demanding that the remains of 279 Ainu ancestors held by a state facility be returned to their descendants.
Akinosuke Owada, a graduating student at Akan Ainu Craft Center Harikiki, poses next to one of his works at the school in Kushiro, Hokkaido.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Mar 26, 2026
Ainu craft school aims to pass on culture to students
Students in the Hokkaido center¡¯s inaugural class are set to graduate soon, after completing their training to acquire skills of the Indigenous ethnic group.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Ghost of Yotei and Assassin¡¯s Creed Shadows were among the most prominent video games of 2025 to draw heavily on Japanese aesthetics, history and genre traditions.
LIFE / Digital / 2025 IN REVIEW
Dec 19, 2025
In 2025, Japan became the canvas for the year¡¯s best video games
From Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to Ghost of Yotei, Japan served as both inspiration and setting for many of the year¡¯s most notable releases.
A vessel is pictured during a handover ceremony of a skull from a member of an Ainu tribe taken by German researchers at the end of the 19th century in Berlin in July 2017. The Japanese government has said that the remains of five Ainu will be returned from the Natural History Museum in Britain to Japan.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Nov 29, 2025
Five sets of Ainu remains to be returned from Britain
It will be the fourth time that Ainu remains have been returned to Japan from abroad.
Before Japanese encroachments onto their native land, the Ainu people in what is present-day Hokkaido lived hunter-gatherer lifestyles supplemented by fishing.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / History / The Living Past
Nov 15, 2025
Timeless tales throw the march of ¡®progress¡¯ into relief
Maybe the Ainu had it right after all? Maybe humankind should have remained in that state? What if we had?
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
LIFE / Digital
Oct 11, 2025
Ghost of Yotei¡¯s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Set in Ezo (modern-day Hokkaido), the highly anticipated samurai action-adventure game contains familiar thrills but subpar substance.
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Jul 6, 2025
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
Some scholars and activists are raising concerns that Indigenous voices are not being heard amid the debate over whether to host nuclear waste storage facilities.
Masaru Okawa (right), head of the Ainu association, receives ancestral remains from Peter Mathieson, principal of the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland on Wednesday.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
May 1, 2025
Remains of Ainu people in Edinburgh to be repatriated to Japan
The remains, which had been kept at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, have been returned to the Ainu Association of Hokkaido and will arrive back in Japan on Saturday.
The remains of three Ainu indigenous people kept at the University of Edinburgh will be returned to Japan and placed at the National Ainu Museum and Park in Shiraoi, Hokkaido.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Apr 27, 2025
Remains of Ainu people in Britain to be returned to Japan
It marks the third time that Ainu remains that were taken abroad for research have been returned to Japan, following similar arrivals from Germany and Australia.
Tokoro Ruins Museum Director Yuuki Nakamura says that 'most Japanese people don¡¯t know' the history of the Okhotsk culture, but he and others are betting that travelers might be intrigued enough to visit and find out more.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 22, 2025
Bear skulls and pit dwellings: Hokkaido aims to sell ancient history
The Okhostk culture thrived in northern Hokkaido from the fifth to ninth centuries and may have provided the Ainu with some of their best-known rituals.
¡°Ainu Puri¡± is a nuanced portrait of Shigeki Amanai (left), a modern Ainu man who strives to uphold his culture and heritage in daily life.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2024
¡®Ainu Puri¡¯: A vital portrait of indigenous culture in contemporary Japan
Takeshi Fukunaga¡¯s documentary is an engaging examination of the life and community of a Hokkaido man devoted to his Ainu heritage.
Hokkaido's cuisine and the culture that underpins it get top billing in Tim Anderson's newest cookbook.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 15, 2024
¡®MasterChef U.K.¡¯ winner¡¯s new cookbook puts Hokkaido cuisine on vivid display
Tim Anderson¡¯s cookbook covers a lot, but its strength is in presenting Japan¡¯s largest prefecture as a detailed tapestry via straightforward recipes.
Discriminatory remarks against the Ainu people by Lower House lawmaker Mio Sugita (center) have prompted calls for introducing penalties under the Ainu policy promotion law.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
May 14, 2024
Calls grow for penalizing discriminatory remarks against Ainu
Calls strengthened after a series of discriminatory remarks by Mio Sugita, a House of Representatives lawmaker of the Liberal Democratic Party.
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
May 3, 2024
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A Sapporo court ruled last month that an Ainu group only has the right to engage in salmon fishing for cultural ¡ª but not commercial ¡ª reasons.
A traditional Ainu preserved food called satchep (dried fish) is made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, in December.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Apr 19, 2024
Japan court denies fishing rights to Ainu people
It was the first court decision on Indigenous rights related to Ainu people.
A large snow sculpture representing the National Ainu Museum and Park in Sapporo in 2020. The Japanese Society of Cultural Anthropology's apology marks the first time that an academic society in Japan or abroad has apologized to the Ainu people, according to the Ainu Association of Hokkaido.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Apr 5, 2024
Anthropology society apologizes to Ainu people over past actions
The apology comes comes after a series of lawsuits filed in the 2010s seeking the repatriation of Ainu remains excavated for research purposes.
A traditional Ainu preserved food called "satchep" (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Apr 3, 2024
Japan academic society apologizes to Ainu people
It is the first time that an academic society in Japan or abroad has apologized to the Ainu people, according to the Ainu Association of Hokkaido.
Eleven portraits of Ainu chieftains, completed in 1790, are now held by the Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology in Besancon, France. There were originally 12 paintings in the original set, collectively known as the ¡°Ishu Retsuzo,¡± but one has disappeared.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / History / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Feb 26, 2024
The ongoing mystery of the Ainu portraits in France
A former Hokkaido journalist is hoping to find out how portraits of Ainu chieftains from 1790 made it to Europe.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse&#039;s brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo&#039;s Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan&#039;s relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces&#039; Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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