Makiko Inoue covered news and features in Japan for The New York Times between 2002 and 2022. She reported extensively from the Tohoku area hit by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Before joining The Times, she worked at the Tokyo bureau of The Los Angeles Times.
Across East Asia, populations are graying faster than anywhere else in the world, and while younger generations shrink, older workers are often toiling well into their 70s and beyond.
By Motoko Rich and Hikari Hida
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he will pursue Shinzo Abe’s goals, such as a stronger military. But he has also set himself apart from his slain predecessor.
By Motoko Rich and Hikari Hida
The Liberal Democrats and their partners gained enough seats to form a supermajority. They can now amend the country’s pacifist Constitution.
By Motoko Rich
This was featured in live coverage.
By Hisako Ueno, Motoko Rich and Makiko Inoue
In a country with tight gun laws and little violence, the killing of the former prime minister left many in stunned disbelief. “It’s so un-Japanese.”
By Motoko Rich, Makiko Inoue, Hikari Hida and Hisako Ueno
The plight of a technician tasked with transferring a city’s worth of personal data is a lesson in the risks of combining small, important objects with a night out drinking.
By Makiko Inoue and Tiffany May
Kane Tanaka, who died in Japan this month, survived two world wars, the 1918 influenza outbreak, paratyphoid and two rounds of cancer. She loved chocolate and hated losing at board games.
By Mike Ives, Hisako Ueno and Makiko Inoue
Sixteen people were still missing, more than 24 hours after the sightseeing vessel was lost off the coast of Hokkaido island.
By Motoko Rich and Makiko Inoue
The sightseeing vessel was on a three-hour round trip tour to the tip of Cape Shiretoko. The Japan Coast Guard had dispatched rescue boats and aircraft to the area near the Kashuni Falls.
By Motoko Rich and Makiko Inoue
The government issued a notice on Wednesday that would “lift” an entry ban on citizens of 106 nations. But consulates are still rarely issuing visas.
By Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Raphael Minder