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June 30, 2026
 

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EXERCISE

Employed people walk more than those without jobs, a study from the University of Tokyo found, suggesting factors beyond the environment also shape how much people walk.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2026
Study finds large gap in daily steps people in Japan take, depending on area
The study from the University of Tokyo found average step counts tended to be higher in municipalities with environments more conducive to walking.
Personal training, once mainly used by athletes, has become increasingly popular among people in Japan seeking to lose weight, improve fitness or maintain their health.
JAPAN / Society
May 28, 2026
Consumer safety watchdog seeks standards for personal trainers as accidents rise
Japan’s Consumer Safety Investigation Commission wants the industry to step up, saying use of personal training among general consumers has outpaced safety practices.
Sports dietitian Yuka Sanui works behind the scenes to ensure Blue Jays players get the most out of their bodies when they step on the field.
BASEBALL / MLB
Apr 27, 2026
The Japanese dietitian who keeps the Blue Jays’ engines running
Japanese dietitian Yuka Sanui is responsible for helping to keep the Blue Jays players in peak condition before games.
Many women going through midlife are turning to strength training to combat age-related muscle loss and health risks, but the trend is being clouded by conflicting advice and influencer-driven misinformation.
COMMENTARY
Apr 12, 2026
The most valuable menopause fitness hack
Middle-aged women aiming to build muscle should be skeptical of “fitfluencers,” many of whom promote junk science and grifts.
New and old long-distance hiking trails hope to draw tourists from crowded cities to unhurried rural regions.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 4, 2026
‘If you walk, you will see’: National parks bet on trekking tourists
Multiday hikes through Japan’s most rural stretches aim to benefit locals and visitors alike.
Masato Edamitsu, the 60-year-old founder of Shinshin Kenko Club, training and guiding his client
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Dec 4, 2025
Japan’s fitness industry is catering to a new clientele: Health-conscious seniors
A fitness survey released by the Sports Agency in October of this year found that seniors today are fitter than they were in 1998.
Risa Matsuda, 27, a staffer at Muscle Girls, flexes while doing a pole dance for customers.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 14, 2025
Tokyo’s viral Muscle Girls bar flexes a brawny sort of beauty
Staff at the viral nightlife spot say embracing a new beauty standard helps them shed societal expectations on femininity.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Swastika Jajoo (fourth from right) began attending the daily radio calisthenics routine at Sendai’s Kitasanbancho Park and struck up unexpected friendships with a group of elderly residents.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Sep 15, 2025
Calisthenic companions bridge cultures and generations
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a doctoral student in Sendai found friendship in unexpected places.
Two boys pose with Pocari Sweat and Aquarius sports drinks in a park near Tokyo.
SPORTS
Aug 19, 2025
The great sports drink debate: What’s best for athletes?
When it comes to the classic debate of Pocari versus Aquari, fans on both sides have strong opinions about which sports drink reigns supreme.
More and more older Japanese people are joining health clubs, with Pilates becoming a popular form of exercise.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 11, 2025
So long, gateball. Japan’s seniors are ready to work those core muscles.
Japan’s seniors are trading gateball for Pilates, chasing strength, stability and a new kind of aging — with core control.
Walking along Osaka's Kanjosen brings you closer to a different side of the city that the head-in-the-clouds Expo 2025 misses.
LIFE / Travel
May 17, 2025
Fighting Osaka Expo fatigue? Walk the 21-km Loop Line for a cure.
Officially completed in 1961, the Osaka Kanjosen runs through the city’s most famous and less touristed neighborhoods alike.
A 2024 survey by a think tank in Tokyo found that Japanese adults are exercising less, with 69.8% of respondents saying they engaged in some kind of physical activity at least once a year, the first reading below 70% since 2006.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 18, 2025
Japanese people are exercising less, survey shows
The proportion of people exercising at least once a year peaked at 76% in 2010 before a gradual downtrend started, a Tokyo-based think tank that did the survey found.
The crew of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission, including NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, pose for a photo aboard the International Space Station on Feb. 26.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 19, 2025
What happens to the human body in deep space?
Bone and muscle deterioration, radiation exposure and vision impairment are just a few of the challenges space travelers face.
Female runners do not tend to have an increased risk of cardiac arrest with age, according to the results of the survey by a Japanese research team.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 29, 2025
Men over 60 at greater risk of cardiac arrest during marathons
The frequency of cardiac arrests for men of that age group was six times the rate of those age 49 or younger, according to Keio University researchers.
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 20, 2024
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
This year’s health and wellness fads point to a Japan that desires more wholesome lifestyles but doesn’t have the time or resources to go about it in traditional ways.
A standard Chocozap location is small and unmanned, which has made it easy for Rizap to add locations amid a chronic labor shortage.
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2024
Gyms in Japan offer laundry, karaoke and hair-removal machines
Chocozap’s oddball gyms were created as an experiment during the coronavirus pandemic.
Over the past 10 years, the athletic performance of women in their 40s showed a decline in the total score as well as in individual categories, according to the Japan Sports Agency.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 15, 2024
40% of Japanese women in their 30s and early 40s don’t exercise at all
The trend reflects the fact that women in this age group tend to be busy with child rearing or work, according to the Japan Sports Agency.
Squats are a good way to exercise your legs and glutes, just don't neglect exercising your mind when it comes to new vocabulary.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 10, 2024
Studying Japanese is like exercise: The more you do it, the better you’ll feel.
Get to know the language of weight training as experts say strengthening muscles is key to remaining comfortable and injury-free in your old age.
Mindbody ClassPass CFO Tom Aveston speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in September.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2024
ClassPass lands in Japan with eye on domestic fitness market and visitors
The company, which provides access to gyms on a membership basis, started operating on Sept. 19 with 200 partner gyms and fitness studios, mainly in Tokyo.
South Africa's 49-year-old skateboarding Olympian, Dallas Oberholzer, competes in the men's prelims during the Paris Games on Aug. 7.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2024
The oldest Olympians might hold the key to slowing down aging
As we age, the number of mitochondria in our cells declines, but that happens much more slowly in people who continue to do strenuous exercise.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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