Beyond the Rising Sun:
Reporting from Tokyo, Japan
Since 2011, ASU Cronkite School’s Howard G. Buffett Foundation Borderlands Project annually visits a global border region to explore and report on its communities, conflicts and culture. The resulting stories have won numerous national and regional awards. Past trips have included countries such as: Dominican Republic, Panama, Costa Rica, Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, Hungary and Peru.
2026 marks the first time the Howard G. Buffett Foundation Borderlands Project travels to Asia, focusing on Tokyo, Japan. As one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and a major global hub for trade, migration, diplomacy and cultural exchange, Tokyo broadens the initiative’s exploration of borderlands beyond physical frontiers, examining how they operate in a globalized society.
Kurdish community in Tokyo faces anti-immigrant rhetoric
In the Japanese cities of Kawaguchi and Warabi, Kurdish immigrant communities have been the central target of a hate campaign against foreigners.
In Japan, US nationalism and conservatism has fed the growth of a political party
As Sanseito, a right-wing populist party of Japan, gradually builds strength and influence, its members draw inspiration from figures in American conservative politics. Despite the parallels, Sanseito is working to adapt “Japanese first” to its own needs.
How Japan Built a Global Gas Empire While Barely Producing a Barrel
Japanese fear and American freedom have reshaped the global natural gas market.
While Japanese banks invest in US gas, a Texas community will pay the price
Some environmental groups in the U.S. and in Japan want the same thing: to stop a Japanese bank from investing in the Rio Grande LNG (liquified natural gas) plant in Port Isabel, Texas. Their main concern: pollution in the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Orgullo Japonés (Japanese Pride)
The Shiotas in Toyohashi have spent the majority of their adult lives embracing Chicano culture. With their family soon to grow, Ayaka and Fumiaki Shiota are only more resolute in their devotion to a culture that allows them to self-express in a country known for social conformity.
Immigrants in Japan struggle to keep businesses open after new visa rules
Rules for obtaining or keeping a business manager visa in Japan were changed in October 2025, with a three-year grace period to meet the requirements for those who already have them. Some of these immigrants who own small businesses in Japan are no longer sure if they’ll be able to stay.
Behind Japan’s record-low homelessness count, a hidden population grows
Japan’s official homeless count has fallen 90% since 2003. But thousands living in internet cafés, cars and friends’ couches are never counted.
The rise of ‘Sana-Mania’: Is Japan’s prime minister’s popularity just a ‘honeymoon’?
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s “Sana-Mania” fandom could be short-lived as tensions flare with Iran and China.
Tokyo bookstores create havens for discussions, literature taboo in China
Chinese bookshops have emerged in Tokyo that serve as social spaces and foster relations with the broader Japanese community amid political tensions.
Barred from fertility care, Japan’s LGBTQ+ couples are forced underground
Japan’s same-sex marriage ban and strict medical rules prevent LGBTQ+ couples from accessing fertility care. This systematic exclusion pushes hopeful parents to legally complicated alternatives: anonymous sperm donations via social media; international reproductive tourism; and a secretive domestic network of unaccredited clinics.
For some immigrants in Japan, alternatives to detention bring release, but not freedom
The Japanese government introduced an alternative to detention called supervisory release in order to prevent long-term detainment and escape. Refugees and advocates say it places responsibility on citizens, ultimately leaving them in uncertainty.
The Zainichi: How historic and modern Korea collide and survive in Tokyo
The history of Koreans in Tokyo has changed and evolved throughout recent times, as the population and culture shift.
Let them make noise: An exploration of protest punk music in Tokyo
In a society thought to be reserved, there is a thriving protest music scene in Tokyo.