How Japan's priciest shiitake mushrooms fuel the $740 million global shiitake industry

Tech Insider

Japan is one of the leading producers of shiitake mushrooms. These mushrooms are notoriously difficult to cultivate on a commercial scale — especially when using the 1,000-year-old Japanese technique of growing them on logs.

I spent $38,000 to take my toy poodle on a private jet to Japan. I want to plan a trip for my other dogs next.

Tech Insider : Travel
Woman in sunglasses with toy poodle on lap on private jet
Gladys Tsoi took her toy poodle Hershey on a private jet to Japan in April.

Gladys Tsoi

Japan's Olympic teams have a plan to stop voyeuristic creeps

Tech Insider : Sports
image of three volleyball players in shorts standing in front of net
Japanese volleyball players, seen here competing at an Olympic qualification tournament in September 2023, will have new uniforms to thwart creeps.

David Mareuil, Anadolu/Getty Images

Japan found enough minerals off a remote Pacific island to fuel its EV plans for over a decade

Tech Insider
The remote operated vehicle used to explore the ocean floor
A remote-operated vehicle used to explore the ocean floor off Minami-Torishima island.

Nippon Foundation.

A sudden spike in cases of a rare infection often linked to flesh-eating bacteria is happening in Japan

Tech Insider
Streptococcus pyogenes

BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Japan's glut of abandoned, derelict homes created so many eyesores and safety hazards it's making the property market bleed billions

Tech Insider
A street in Okawachiyama, Saga Prefecture, Japan.
Japan has over 8 million abandoned houses in the countryside.

Makoto Watanabe

Plummeting fertility rates are making Asian countries worry about running out of soldiers

Tech Insider
The South Korean flag on army uniforms.
South Korea, which has the world's lowest fertility rate, has military conscription of at least 18 months.

Im Yeongsik/Getty Images

Japan can't get enough of tiny vehicles. Here's Honda's latest: a $15,500 miniature EV truck.

Tech Insider
Honda N-Van E
The Honda N-VAN e will go on sale in Japan in October.

Honda

A man born in Japan — where tipping is rude — is part of a growing number of Americans rejecting tipping in the US

Tech Insider : Economy
A man sitting at a table at a Japanese restaurant.
Ken Ozeki has strong opinions about the tipping culture in America — particularly compared to his native Japan.

Courtesy of Ken Ozeki

Japan's prime Mount Fuji views are so prized, a Japanese developer is destroying a nearly complete apartment building to keep complaining neighbors happy

Tech Insider
Picture of Mount Fuji from Fujikawaguchiko in Japan.
Picture of Mount Fuji from Fujikawaguchiko in Japan.

PHILIP FONG/Getty Images

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