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July 04, 2026
 

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SKIING

Each winter, countless tourists flock to Japan's famous snow-covered mountains, but a lack of top-down regulation on the country's outdoor sports industry can make certain activities unnecessarily risky.
LIFE / Travel
May 2, 2026
For tourists in Japan’s outdoor sports scene, safety is not guaranteed
Recent data suggests accidents involving foreign tourists are disproportionately represented in certain high-risk activities.
Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. celebrates on the podium after winning a downhill event in Zauchensee, Austria, on Jan. 10.
MORE SPORTS / Alpine skiing
May 1, 2026
Lindsey Vonn still uncertain about future following crash at Olympics
The ‌injury nearly ‌resulted in her left leg being amputated and came nine days after Vonn tore her ​anterior cruciate ligament in a World Cup crash.
Lindsey Vonn of the United States in action during training during the Milano Cortina Games in Belluno, Italy, on Feb. 7
OLYMPICS
Feb 24, 2026
Vonn says Olympic injury could have led to amputation
“I can’t tell you how painful it’s been,” the skier said.
A 22-year-old Australian woman has died after her backpack got caught on a ski lift, which left her suspended in midair after attempting to disembark at Tsugaike Mountain Resort in Hakuba Valley, a popular ski destination in Nagano Prefecture, police said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2026
Australian woman dies after backpack buckle gets caught in Japan ski lift
A buckle from her backpack got caught in the lift chair, which led to her being suspended in midair after she attempted to disembark at a resort in Nagano Prefecture.
A cloud-seeding generator outside the town of Fraser, Colorado, produces snow for the Winter Park ski resort, several miles downwind.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Feb 2, 2026
U.S. ski resorts turn to drones to make it snow amid dire drought
Resorts are increasingly seeking solutions to freshen up the brown slopes spanning the American West this winter, even as the East Coast grapples with back-to-back storms.
Ski fields in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture, which rose to national prominence during Japan’s 1980s and early 1990s ski boom and hosted the 1998 Nagano Olympics, remain central to the village’s winter economy.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Feb 2, 2026
In Hakuba, getting the tourism balance right
As tourism surges, a ski town in Nagano Prefecture weighs economic revival against rising costs, crowds and cultural clashes.
Federica Brignone of Italy competes during the women's giant slalom in the 2025 FIS Ski World Cup in Sun Valley, Idaho.
OLYMPICS / Alpine skiing
Jan 27, 2026
After tragedy, Alpine skiing rethinks safety on the slopes
The ​safety debate is sharpened by the upcoming Milano Cortina Games, where the men’s races will take place on Bormio’s hair-raising Stelvio course.
A boy died at a ski resort in Otaru, Hokkaido, on Sunday after being trapped in a conveyor belt-type escalator connecting a parking lot with ski slopes.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2025
Boy dies after becoming trapped in ski resort escalator in Hokkaido
Authorities say the boy fell near the exit of the escalator and his right arm became trapped in the belt’s turning section.
A record 13 people have been killed by bears across Japan since April.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 12, 2025
Ski resort acknowledges reports of bear sightings, as predator tops kanji pick
Scientists say this year’s surge in maulings is being driven by a fast-growing bear population, a bad acorn harvest and a falling human population.
Karuizawa Distillers, which runs Komoro Distillery in Nagano Prefecture, has teamed up with the city of Furano and real estate developer Seibu Group to open a whisky distillery in Furano.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 4, 2025
Beyond the lavender fields in Furano, a whisky distillery emerges
The region has teamed up with Karuizawa Distillers and property developer Seibu Group to build a state-of-the-art facility to make single malts.
Visitors at Myoko Suginohara Ski Resort in Myoko, Niigata Prefecture, on March 5
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2025
Myoko ski resort area feels trepidation as foreign money pours in
Many locals fear Myoko could go the way of Niseko.
Mikaela Shiffrin competes in the slalom run of the women's team combined event at the Saalbach 2025 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Hinterglemm, Austria, on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS / Winter Sports
Feb 12, 2025
Shiffrin bags record-equaling 15th medal at World Ski Championships
The victory marked a stunning return to action for Shiffrin following an abdominal puncture wound she sustained in a heavy fall in November.
Akan Mashu National Park in Hokkkaido on Dec. 18. A rising number of Hokkaido towns and villages are discussing the introduction of a local accommodation tax for tourists.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jan 20, 2025
Hokkaido areas examine benefits of taxing tourists
Niseko plans to use accommodation tax revenue to strengthen transportation services and increase the number of tourism-related officials.
Japan’s ski resorts are popular with tourists and knowing some basic Japanese will help you navigate the slopes a lot easier.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 9, 2025
Japanese ski vocabulary: Hit the books before you hit the slopes
Knowing some basic terms will help you graduate from that linguistic bunny slope in no time.
A worker walks along the partially snowless slope at the William F. Rogers Ski Area at Massachusetts' Blue Hills in January.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 17, 2024
Companies challenged by fewer weeks of winter
Warmer winters also impact everything from sports to drinking water and even seasonal allergies.
Lindsey Vonn poses with her World Cup trophies after the season finale in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in March 2010.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 15, 2024
Lindsey Vonn coming out of retirement to rejoin U.S. Ski Team at age 40
Vonn, a three-time Olympic medalist and four-time overall World Cup champion, retired in 2019 after a bruising 18-year career during which she suffered several injuries.
The Afriski slope in the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho
MORE SPORTS
Aug 16, 2024
Skiing in Lesotho: An African adventure under pressure
As enthusiastic as the visitors are, high running costs threaten the unique African ski adventure, which relies on artificial snow when snowfalls are patchy.
Known in Hokkaido business circles as an internationalist due to his close ties with the United States and the International Olympics Committee, Yoshiro Ito headed dozens of Hokkaido and national organizations during his decadeslong career.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Mar 25, 2024
Hokkaido mourns Yoshiro Ito, promoter of Japan-U.S. ties
Ito was known in Hokkaido business circles as an internationalist due to his close ties with the United States.
In Hokkaido’s Niseko ski resort area, a bowl of ramen or soba from a food truck easily goes for more than three times what it costs at a sit-down joint in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY
Feb 18, 2024
¥3,800 ski-slope ramen is a glimpse of Japan’s future
Foreign tourist spending has potential to stimulate growth but needs careful management to ensure equitable distribution of benefits for locals.
In the 2022 fiscal year, which ended in March 2023, Hokkaido's Niseko resort area saw a cumulative total of more than 1.4 million visitors, including day-trippers and those who spent at least one night.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jan 29, 2024
Ski season surge tests limits of Niseko’s infrastructure
The return of tourists to the Hokkaido resort area is putting pressure on food retailers and transportation.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
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."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.

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