2022

With traditional Japanese carpentry on the decline, young architect Akiyoshi Koki is rejuvenating age-old construction approaches through digital fabrication technology like laser cutting and 3D printing. From award-win…

Japan is full of both young people keen to visit new locations but lacking the funds to do so, and provincial towns seeking a fresh influx of younger workers. Nagaoka Rina created a service that tackles both issues by o…

In recent years, growth in the global aquaculture market has seen yields overtake traditional fisheries. But conventional aquaculture techniques are a source of pollution, and also susceptible to weather events. Profess…

In traditional sake brewing, sake lees is a major byproduct that is typically thrown away in large quantities. Yamamoto Yuya runs a distillery that is trying to change this by using these long-overlooked leftovers as a …

In the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture lost about 4,000 lives, with damage to 77% of local homes. Since then, population decline has seen more homes go empty, but, 11 years later, a unique …

Japan is home to some 730,000 bridges. With most built during the rapid economic growth of the mid–late 20th century, many are potentially in need of maintenance, but without the personnel to conduct the necessary check…

Mori Kenshiro is the creator of an online learning platform that equips adults with the skills they need to navigate Japan's pandemic-hit job market. Along with free livestreamed evening classes, and an interface that l…

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami of 2011, Japan's market for emergency rations has skyrocketed. However, once purchased, most homes and workplaces forget about such supplies until their use-by date approa…

Hashimura Kazunori specializes in rejuvenating unlikely destinations as luxury glamping sites. Since his first venture, a secluded cove in Shizuoka Prefecture that now receives some 3,000 visitors per year, his model ha…

Across Japan, over 250 thousand children consistently miss out on school and other shared peer-group experiences due to chronic medical and physical conditions. In 2016, Kitano Hanako built upon her own experiences of s…

Across Japan, recent decades have seen a surge in the number of seniors living alone, with the issue of isolation further compounded by the pandemic. Goto Manabu operates a video chat service that connects seniors in ne…

Though Japan is famed for its fisheries, in recent years, factors such as overfishing and climate change have seen catches fall to just a third of their 1980s peak. Mizukami Yosuke is the operator of a unique app that s…

Against the backdrop of an aging society, many of Japan's long-running small businesses, unattractive to investors and lacking obvious successors, are in danger of disappearance – particularly in provincial areas, where…