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About
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Tansa is an independent, nonprofit, investigative newsroom based in Tokyo.
Our investigations reveal — and aim thereby to end — wrongdoing by the powerful, such as government bodies and corporations. We approach our work by considering what needs to change in order to achieve redress for injustice and ensure that others are not harmed by similar wrongdoing in the future.
In 2025, Japan ranked 66th in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index. The country’s major media organizations, prioritizing their own business interests, often fail to sufficiently monitor power or to speak up for the victims of its abuses. We believe independent, investigative journalism is essential for the Japanese public.
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In order to maintain our editorial independence, Tansa does not run ads. And we don’t have a paywall, so our stories are available to everyone. Our funding comes mainly from reader donations, grants from foundations, and proceeds from our online journalism course. If you believe in Tansa’s mission, please consider supporting our work.
As governments, corporations, and criminals increasingly work across borders, so too must the journalists who investigate them. In 2018, Tansa became Japan’s first official member of the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN), which as of 2025 is comprised of 263 independent, nonprofit media organizations in 97 countries. Since beginning publication, we have participated in numerous cross-border investigations together with journalists from over a dozen countries.
Tansa’s promises to our readers
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1. Unflagging investigations
Tansa aims for our work to have concrete impact by ending abuses of power. We choose the subjects of our investigations with an eye to finding solutions to problems affecting society. When we select a reporting topic, we commit to following the story in the long term.
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2. Time and effort
Investigative journalism requires significant time and effort. Through extensive research, interviews, and discussion with sources, we obtain and report on information that would otherwise not have come to light.
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3. World-class skill
Through learning from and partnering with other investigative journalists around the world, we will continue to hone our skills in order to produce world-class journalism.
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4. Uncensored reporting
We will always act based on journalistic ethics. Our investigations and reporting won’t hold back, no matter who or what their subject may be.
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5. Training the next generation
Through our online journalism course, Tansa offers young and aspiring journalists across Japan the skills they need to work at a high professional level. We aim to raise the overall standard of journalism in Japan.
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Impact and reports
We began publication in February 2017 under our previous name, Waseda Chronicle, as a project of the Waseda University Institute for Journalism. As a media organization incubated in a university, we aimed to both produce investigative works and train journalists. In February 2018, one year after we began publication, we left Waseda University and became an independent nonprofit in order to clarify the editorial responsibility for our work. With the same original aim of training journalists, in November 2020 we launched Tansa School, an online journalism course. In March 2021, we changed our name from Waseda Chronicle to Tokyo Investigative Newsroom Tansa.
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Awards
- 2026
- - “The Never-Ending PFOA Contamination” = 2025 Second Half Nonfiction Book Grand Prize of Ryusho-kan Shoten
- 2025
- - Series “Polluted with PFOA” = Encouragement Prize of The Hizumi Fund for Promotion
Information Distribution Award 2025
- “The Never-Ending PFOA Contamination” = 2024 Second Half Nonfiction Book Grand Prize of Ryusho-kan Shoten
- “Uploaded and Re-Uploaded” =Investigative Journalism Award of Hoso Bunka Foundation Award 2025
- “Uploaded and Re-Uploaded” =Special Award of International House of Japan Journalism Award 2025
- 2023
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- 2022 Media Ambitious Grand Prize Excellence Award in Print Category from Media
Ambitious
- Media Ambitious Grand Prize 2022 [print category] Award of Excellence
- Journalism X Award from the Journalism Citizen Support Fund
- 2022
- - The Society of Publishers in Asia Awards 2022
- PEP Journalism Awards 2022 from Asia Pacific Initiative
- Journalism X Award from the Journalism Citizen Support Fund
- 2020
- - Open and Big Data Award from VLED
- Journalism X Award from the Journalism Citizen Support Fund
- 2019
- Linked Open Data Excellence Award in the application field from the LOD Challenge
- 2018
- Poverty Journalism Grand Prize from the Anti-Poverty Network
- 2017
- Supporter of the Free Press Award from the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan
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Archives
Reports
Financial report 2024
Financial report 2023
Financial report 2022
Financial report 2021
Financial report 2020
Publications
The Emerging Investigative Journalism Movement in
Japan and Asia (web view, print view)
Meet the team
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Makoto Watanabe
Editor-in-chief
Makoto began his journalism career at the national newspaper Asahi Shimbun in 2000. While at Asahi Shimbun, he focussed on investigative journalism and published a series of articles titled Prometheus’s Trap, which examined issues surrounding the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. He left Asahi Shimbun in 2016 and founded Waseda Chronicle (now known as Tokyo Investigative Newsroom Tansa). In 2017, he was honoured with the Supporter of the Free Press Award by the Freedom of the Press Committee of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.
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Mariko Tsuji
Reporter
Mariko joined Tansa as a student intern in 2016. From 2019 to 2022, she also worked for an economic magazine, Toyo Keizai. During this time, she helped create a database that revealed payments between doctors and pharmaceutical companies, contributing to greater transparency. In 2022, she developed a database on the use of COVID-19 subsidies and investigated the misuse of taxpayer money. More recently, she has reported on digital sexual exploitation linked to smartphone apps and tech giants, examining app operators that use shell companies. Currently, her main areas of focus include children's rights, gender based violence and illegal overfishing.
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Nanami Nakagawa
Reporter
For seven years Nanami worked for Ashoka, the world's largest and oldest network of social entrepreneurs,starting while she was a college student. She became an investigative journalist at Tansa in 2020. Her reporting has covered chemical pollution, bullying-related suicides among youth, police and prosecutors targeting labour unions, the suppression of corporate whistleblowers, and the deaths of patients left behind near the Fukushima nuclear power plants. She is the author of Endless PFOA Pollution in a Country with a Pollution Preserving System.
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Kotaro Chigira
Videographer, Media Designer
Kotaro first joined Tansa as an intern during his university years and later started his career at The Mainichi Newspapers. After covering incidents such as the Utoro arson case at the Kyoto bureau and working in digital editing at the Tokyo headquarters, he left the company and returned to Tansa. Kotaro’s role is to enhance the journalism experience of Tansa’s readership through video production and design while helping Tansa grow as a sustainable news organization.
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Yuua Yukawa
Management staff
Yuua majored in Japanese literature at university and has always believed in the power of words. After graduating, she worked in the office of a city councillor as well as a nonprofit organisation alongside attorneys. Her commitment to protecting the lives and rights of minorities led her to work across both the legislative and judicial fields. As a member of Tansa, she supports the organisation's mission through general affairs, accounting, and labour management.
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Makoto Sano
Staff
Makoto supports Tansa through his administrative expertise. He identifies with Tansa’s mission to end abuses of power. He began making monthly donations to Tansa in 2017, shortly after the organization was founded. In 2020, after retiring from his corporate career, he joined Tansa as a volunteer after a friend introduced him. He is also a fan of Frank Capra’s films, including Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.
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Kohane Ogawa
Youth Reporter
Kohane joined Tansa as a student intern while she was in high school. She was inspired by Tansa’s commitment to challenging authority and standing with victims, and decided to become an investigative journalist. In spring 2025 she started university, majoring in Humanities. She wants to follow her passion without ever losing her determination to think for herself rather than simply obey authority.
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Hiroko Sasaki
Youth Reporter
Hiroko is a junior majoring in history at a Japanese liberal arts university. She has been interning at Tansa since July 2024. She is committed to digging deeper in her interviews to uncover hidden truths and bring the voices of victims to the forefront. She is particularly interested in issues related to the Immigration Bureau of Japan and the challenges faced by young caregivers. Hiroko is currently studying journalism abroad in the United Kingdom, expanding her horizons and honing her skills.
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Jabreel Williams
Youth Reporter
Jabreel started his journey in Japan at language school and joined Tansa in November 2025. In his home country of Australia he studied Japanese at university, despite majoring in Aviation. After graduating Jabreel worked as a Cabin Attendant for Virgin Australia. However, in 2023 the beginning of the Palestine-Israel conflict catalysed his interest in politics and instilled a sense of duty, motivating him to pursue a career where his work has meaningful impact. Jabreel aspires to speak up for those whose voices are unheard, and provide accurate and unbiased journalism. He is interested in the reemergence of Ultra-Nationalism in Japan, and its impact on the country, he aims to contribute to the cross-border effort against it.
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International Advisory Board
・Steven Butler, Asia Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect Journalists (United States)
・Tatsuro Hanada, Sociologist (Japan)
・Gerd Kopper, Professor Emeritus, TU University Dortmund (Germany)
・I-Hsuan Lin, Professor of Sociology, Rikkyo University (Japan)
・Kaori Matsui, Representative Director, Japan Innovation & Succession Fund; Representative Director, Japan Innovation & Succession Inc. (Japan)
・Robert J. Rosenthal, Former Executive Director, Center for Investigative Reporting (United States)
・Hiroaki Yabe, Executive Director, Sokoage; Professor, Tohoku University of Art and Design (Japan)
・Nick Kondo, Representative Director, Japan Innovation & Succession Fund; Representative Director, Japan Innovation & Succession Inc. (Japan)
Click here for board members’ profiles. -
Copyright and responsibility for content
Copyright for the material published on this website belongs to Tansa. The editor-in-chief is responsible for all facts and opinions therein.
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Newsletter
Tansa’s English-language newsletter introduces our latest work and offers readers a peek behind the scenes in our newsroom. You don’t have to be a donating member to subscribe; simply enter your email and name below. And you’re always welcome to hit reply!
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