The following English media websites are quite useful resources for expats in Japan:
- Japan Reference: Japan Reference has an excellent collection of Japan-related resources for various topics & cities, articles about Japan, and a very active discussion forum. This website is worth being a member of.
- BFF Tokyo: BFF Tokyo is a great informative website for foreigners on learning Japanese, finding a job in Tokyo, and for life in Tokyo. They have guides for almost all topics that a foreigner may need to know about.
- Time Out Tokyo: Time Out Tokyo is part of the Time Out group, which operates in 58 countries. Time Out Tokyo is a multilingual city guide offering insight into Tokyo’s extraordinary array of choices in entertainment, events, and beyond.
- Tokyo Weekender: As the name suggests, Tokyo weekender is an English media mainly focusing on leisure activities. It is Tokyo’s longest-running English lifestyle magazine, packed with food, travel, tips, city guides, news, interviews, and more.
- Kokoro Media: Kokoro Media has an editorial team made up of long-term foreign residents in Japan and Japanese nationals. They aim to show the world the different facets of the Kokoro (Heart or Spirit) concept captured from people, objects, and other aspects of Japan.
- Disrupting Japan: A great resource to know about Japan’s startups and technological innovations. This website is run by Tim Romero, a techie cum business leader from the USA who also leads Google’s outreach to startups in Japan.
- Business in Japan: This website is a good place for foreigners wishing to start a business in Japan or wishes to grow their businesses. Jason Ball, a very energetic Australian gaijin, started a LinkedIn group by the same name in 2008. His group became quite popular, and by 2022 it reached over 70,000 members. This website was launched after seeing the success of that group, reflecting a need for such a resource.
- Metropolis Japan: Metropolis Japan started in 1994 as a friendly guide to English-speaking foreigners. It is a 32-to-48-page free monthly city guide, news, and classified ads glossy magazine published by Japan Partnership, Inc. They also focus on upcoming events. Metropolis’s coverage is not nationwide, but they cover Tokyo, Yokohama, and Chiba areas.