Many Japanese are still reeling from the impact of last year’s earthquake and tsunami. But a fascinating natural phenomenon has emerged in some regions since the disaster: The deterioration of vegetation that was formerly located close to the tsunami-damaged coastline. Many locals now find the area much more undeveloped, and indeed many of the wild animals seem to have recovered rapidly.
This photo essay by Telegraph photo editor Lucy Dare and Getty Images photographer Takahiro Hoshino captures a sunny Sunday on a recent train ride.
Stories by Zhang Jun
Nightmare food, smelling like freshly turned potatoes, greeted a group of rambunctious Japanese children who came to collect watermelons and melons too big to eat in this rice field outside of Fukushima. The reddish orange fruits were still growing despite the devastation at the nuclear power plant 40 miles away. Today, more people are dying in rural areas of Japan as a result of medical negligence, suicide, and earlier death due to infections from cancers that were never detected.
Janice MacKenzie
Thrashapes, the first great puzzle game, was created by a Japanese mathematician living with Down’s syndrome. (Courtesy of Tokareko Puzzle.) Read the full story.
Seven-year-old Jessie Kasei keeps trying to get acquainted with the many objects that make up her newest home, a tiny town of otaku — fans of manga and video games — in this recent article.
Despite a recent government decision to shut down its reactors, Japan is still producing nuclear energy — and finding it out of reach for many lower-income families.
KATE OSTERMAN
Breathtaking peaks and small, remote islands, this list of Japan’s national parks lets you explore all 62 of them — at least for a day.
COMMUNITY MEMBERS
In this image, a woman lets her dog jump up on a bench. (Courtesy of Hiroyuki Yoshida).
In this photo from September 2012, an older woman in a traditional kimono helps young women practicing their arm stance on a tiny Japanese island.
RENTING IN JAPAN
Laurent Rebours takes a close look at the home of the elderly Issei woman, who chose the time and money to rent an apartment in Tokyo, particularly because the building offers him the chance to come over every day.
