Dispatches from japan

Rainy Days for Wagasa Makers

While reporting in Tokyo for NHK World, I came across the art of making Japanese umbrellas, or wagasa, and was immediately drawn in. The craft made me think of my rainy hometown of Seattle, but it also felt like an important story about tradition, loss, and the challenges facing cultural artisans in modern Japan. This video explores the decline of wagasa making, a craft that once produced more than 10 million umbrellas a year and now survives on a much smaller scale, with artisans worried this cultural icon could someday disappear. Story published in 2010 by Tyler Sipe for NHK World's Asia Biz Forecast, with field producer Moshe Komata-Blumenreich.

Training Camps or Sweatshops?

From a young age, I’ve been drawn to immigrant stories, and this one stayed with me. I created this video for The New York Times to accompany reporting by Hiroko Tabuchi on Japan’s migrant trainee system, which at the time brought roughly 190,000 workers from across Asia into factories and farms amid widespread allegations of labor abuse. The project gave me the chance to help tell a human story about exploitation, migration, and the gap between the promise of opportunity and the reality many workers faced. Published in 2010.

Season of Protest

Reporting this story with my colleague June Stinson felt especially meaningful because we both had family ties to Okinawa. For me, it was personal. My dad partly grew up there while his American father was stationed at Futenma, the controversial U.S. military base on the island. Returning as a journalist to report on the pain and politics surrounding that same base felt full circle. This story looks at the fallout after Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama broke his promise to move U.S. Marines off Okinawa, sparking protests, political turmoil, and ultimately his resignation. Published in 2010 for The Washington Post.