Minza Lee opened Cosmos Karaoke to bring the city back to life. This glittery, hopeful piece is a love letter to the little things.

Almost a decade since the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, many residents have taken it upon themselves to collect radiation data to help regain a sense of control. Today, they see echoes in the pandemic.

Japan's reliance on fossil fuels has grown since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. But one area stands in contrast: Fukushima itself. It aims to be fueled entirely by renewable energy by 2040.

Kat promised us an animal story, and she delivered. This one involves macaque monkeys, fireworks and giggles.

"The social cost of separation from family, losing the land, losing their jobs — how can you measure all of these impacts, estimating the risk of nuclear power?" asks Tatsu Suzuki, a former nuclear engineer and now professor at Nagasaki University.

How do you reopen a nuclear exclusion zone? It's complicated.

Kat worked with NPR photographer Claire Harbage and the ultra-talented NPR Visuals team to publish a hauntingly beautiful piece about what recovery from disaster means.

Kat spoke with Ailsa Chang about her upcoming series focusing on recovery from disaster in Fukushima. “One of my overwhelming takeaways during my time there was just how resilient people are.”

At more than 1,000 years old, the Takizakura or "waterfall cherry tree," has already lived through wars, famines and natural disasters — and now a pandemic.

“The Olympic flame, originally supposed to be a light of hope for this region, will stay in Japan for the next year. It's already being referred to as a light of hope for the end of coronavirus instead.”

Kat arrived in Japan as the nation was grappling with COVID-19. In this photo essay collaboration with NPR's Claire Harbage, she depicts a nation coming to terms with a pandemic in real time, as tradition confronts new realities.

News was breaking just as Kat arrived in Japan, when she filed this piece for NPR's All Things Considered.