51勛圖厙

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July 24, 2026
 

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VOLUNTEERS

Gentaro Yui, a 51-year-old executive of Moriumius's operator, in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, in December
51勛圖厙
Jul 12, 2026
Farm experiences in disaster-hit Japanese area attracting children
Since opening 11 years ago, the Moriumius facility has received a total of some 15,000 elementary and junior high school students, with many becoming repeat visitors.
Japan Cleft Palate Foundation Executive Director Nagato Natsume (second from left) examines a child at Nguyen Dinh Chieu General Hospital in Vinh Long province, Vietnam. Natsume is part of a Japanese team that carries out volunteer overseas missions to provide free surgery to people born with cleft lips or palates.
51勛圖厙 / Regional Voices: Chubu
Jul 6, 2026
Japanese doctors mark 34 years of free cleft-lip surgeries in Vietnam
In many developing countries, treatment for cleft lips or palates is often delayed because of financial hardship and limited access to specialized care.
Haruo Obata maintains mountain trails on Mount Yufu in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on March 17.
51勛圖厙 / Society
Mar 27, 2026
86-year-old ＆super volunteer＊ excited for return to school
※Life is a never-ending learning process,§ said Haruo Obata, who will attend a night junior high school.
Volunteer Shunichi Hirata (right) checks a heater as he chats with Takako Shimizu, who manages residents＊ mutual support activities in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture.
51勛圖厙 / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Jan 19, 2026
Mutual support in Gifu housing estate offers model case for aging society
From helping with hospital visits to even being a playmate for board games, residents of Yagiyama district help one another with small everyday problems.
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.
Akihiko Tanaka, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, speaks at a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers program, held in Tokyo on Thursday.
51勛圖厙 / FOCUS
Nov 18, 2025
Japan＊s overseas volunteer effort faces personnel shortage as it marks 60th year
Grassroots human exchanges have fostered multilayered relations with other countries, but private sector alternatives and public perceptions are creating recruitment headwinds.
The government adopted a bill on Tuesday extending volunteer probation officers' terms from two to three years.
51勛圖厙
Nov 11, 2025
Japan to extend volunteer probation officers＊ terms to three years
The draft revision is aimed at helping secure people who will take on the role of watching over the rehabilitation of individuals who committed crimes or delinquent acts.
Kinga Skiers (left) co-founded the Tokyo chapter of Food Not Bombs in 2023. The organization aims to provide the capital＊s homeless population with food and other essentials.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Aug 18, 2025
Solidarity with Tokyo＊s homeless residents, one day at a time
Since 2023, the Tokyo chapter of Food Not Bombs has been supplying vegetarian meals and everyday goods to homeless people across the city.
Shun Sasaki, 12, an elementary school student in Hiroshima, guides foreign visitors in English as a volunteer guide in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima on July 15.
51勛圖厙 / Society
Jul 31, 2025
Hiroshima schoolboy keeps memories of war alive with guided tours? in English
Shun Sasaki＊s volunteer work has let to him being selected as one of two local children to speak at this year＊s ceremony marking 80 years since the A-bomb was dropped.
Firefighters want more funding and better incentives for the millions of volunteers who prop up the system.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 3, 2025
＆Not sustainable＊: Europe＊s firefighters want more funds and staff
Wildfires fueled by hotter, drier weather and household fires are straining fire services across the bloc.
Magokoro Yoshihira (center) is the managing director of Yui Associates, which operates the neighborhood fixtures of Sanya Cafe and Juyoh Hotel. Yusuke Takahashi (left) met Yoshihira during a difficult period in his life and now works as the cafe＊s chef. Nancy Anne (right) has worked for over 10 years at Juyoh Hotel and enjoys the multicultural environment.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Apr 28, 2025
Reclaiming Sanya, one meal at a time
Since 2018, Sanya Cafe has been building community in one of Tokyo＊s most colorful 〞 and infamous 〞 neighborhoods.
Yumi Watanabe (right), head of the residents' association of the Tsubamesawa public housing complex in Sendai, delivers a meal to a resident.
51勛圖厙 / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Apr 21, 2025
Disaster public housing complexes in Sendai work to boost interactions
Residents are working with volunteers to organize a children＊s cafeteria and other events.
Children play with trading cards featuring "local heroes" created by a local community council in the Saidosho district of Kawara, Fukuoka Prefecture, in January.
51勛圖厙 / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Apr 7, 2025
＆Local hero＊ trading cards nudge children toward community activities
The cards, which feature real people, are helping to break the ice between children and adults in Kawara, Fukuoka Prefecture.
Teruko Nakazawa, a retired unpaid parole officer (back), talks with her former parolee in the smoking room of a cafe in Tokyo. Around 47,000 citizen volunteers far outnumber the 1,000 salaried probation officers working in Japan.
51勛圖厙 / Society / FOCUS
Jan 23, 2025
Japan＊s unpaid parole officers are driven by a ＆love for humanity＊
The around 47,000 citizen volunteers far outnumber the 1,000 salaried probation officers in Japan.
Volunteers take care of children at a children＊s play space opened for survivors of the earthquake in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 31, 2024.
51勛圖厙 / Society
Jan 7, 2025
Professor highlights crucial importance of volunteer aid after major quakes
Although volunteers often face criticism on social media, an expert in disaster management argues that volunteers are essential from the very moment a disaster strikes.
Runako Onodera,who donated a book purchased at a bookstore to "Book Santa" on Nov. 25 in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
51勛圖厙
Dec 19, 2024
Santa project to deliver donated books to children in Noto
1,868 bookstores joining the project across the country＊s 47 prefectures at present will continue to collect donations until Wednesday.
Book Santa is a program that delivers books to children in need for Christmas, but it also operates year-round.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 17, 2024
Looking for ways to be charitable in Japan? Give the gift of reading.
Book donations are just one of many ways you can give back to the community during the holidays.
Tokyo Union Church volunteers prepare food for unhoused individuals. The church helps people regardless of religion, race or sexuality.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Dec 16, 2024
From the stage to the streets, make a difference this holiday season
Discover the joy of giving back through a variety of charitable efforts. Helping others helps you, too.
Tsutomu Hotta
51勛圖厙
Dec 4, 2024
Ex-prosecutor Hotta, who probed Lockheed scandal, dies at 90
He also helped decide how to distribute donations made to the Japanese Red Cross Society and the Central Community Chest of Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Experts of a Justice Ministry panel hold a meeting in Tokyo in June to discuss revision of the probation officer system.
51勛圖厙 / Crime & Legal
Oct 16, 2024
Justice Ministry to consider public recruitment of volunteer probation officers
The officers regularly meet with individuals released from prison, including those on parole, offering guidance on life and employment support.
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's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" 〞 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'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'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' 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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