Naomi Gingold

The World

Naomi is a freelance journalist who's lived and worked across Asia and the US.

Naomi Gingold has lived and worked across Asia and the US. Her reporting covers a wide range of areas but specialties include: technology, international affair/politics, health, and the arts. She also has a background in music production and will be always on the lookout for the perfect bridge to play Pooh Sticks. 

Former barrack turned into a house in nearby town of Parker, Arizona.

Japanese Americans weren't the only US citizens housed in camps

This is why the head of Indian Affairs offered up a Colorado reservation as a site to imprison Japanese Americans during World War II.

Japanese Americans weren't the only US citizens housed in camps
The Hi Jolly Monument in Quartzsite, Arizona.

One of America's first Syrian immigrants helped conquer the West — with camels

One of America's first Syrian immigrants helped conquer the West — with camels
Hilda Tresz at the Rostov Zoo in Russia. Tresz works with zoos around the world to consult on animal welfare.

How to bring out the wild in zoo animals

How to bring out the wild in zoo animals
On the 15th anniversary of the hate crime shooting of Sikh American Balbir Singh Sodhi, about 130 people gathered at his gas station in Phoenix to remember and pay tribute.

The brother of one of the first hate-crime victims post 9/11 keeps on teaching tolerance

The brother of one of the first hate-crime victims post 9/11 keeps on teaching tolerance
An eye-catching poster from the student group SEALDs, featuring founding member, Wakako Fukuda (right).  SEALDs (Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy) has changed the image of protesters in Japan, and made it okay to speak out.

The student group in Japan that's made it cool to protest

The student group in Japan that's made it cool to protest
Hikaru Utada

Utada Hikaru upended the Japanese music scene like no one before — or since

Utada Hikaru was the first Japanese musician to do it all. Sing, write and be a pop star. She quickly became one of the country's most successful musicians — a position no one has managed to take from her.

Utada Hikaru upended the Japanese music scene like no one before — or since
Bart (l) -- aka Kyaw Moe Khine -- with his street art crew ROAR. Bart says battling with teachers over his art work helped develop his rebellious streak.

A Burmese atheist who takes inspiration from George Carlin and Bart Simpson

In Buddhist-majority Myanmar, sometimes it's better to be an atheist than a Muslim.

A Burmese atheist who takes inspiration from George Carlin and Bart Simpson
A taxi in Yangon decorated for Myanmar's election: a picture of Aung San Suu Kyi (l), and her late father, Aung San (r), who is revered as the father of modern Burma.

He's still a rock star in Burma, 7 decades after his death

Around the world, Aung San Suu Kyi is seen as the symbol of the fight for freedom in Myanmar. But inside the country, she shares the spotlight with her father, who won independence from Britain but was felled by an assassin.

He's still a rock star in Burma, 7 decades after his death
Taio Kaneta with his signature "Cafe de Monk" truck that he uses for his pop-up cafes. As a Buddhist monk, Kaneta wanted to offer something special to those still reeling from the triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown.

At Cafe de Monk, tsunami survivors can get coffee, cake and someone to listen to their woes

Nearly five years after the tsunami and nuclear meltdown in Japan, thousands of people still haven't been able to put their lives back together. So a Japanese Buddhist monk developed with a pop-up cafe to cater to their needs.

At Cafe de Monk, tsunami survivors can get coffee, cake and someone to listen to their woes
Sexism rampant in Japanese politics

Hurry up and get married? Comments sparked furor in Japan. But little more.

A male lawmaker apologized after trying to put down an assertive female colleague. A year later, though, little has changed.

Hurry up and get married? Comments sparked furor in Japan. But little more.
Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe speaks during the Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment at UN headquarters this September.

Many Japanese women are unimpressed by 'womenomics'

Japanese women who aspire to both a career and a family have long considered their best options to be leaving the country, working at a startup or finding work at an international company in Japan. But even then, it can come down to who your manager is.

Many Japanese women are unimpressed by 'womenomics'
The coastal Japanese city of Ishinomaki, before the Tsunami... and today.

In search of an owner… our reporter tracks down a Japanese diver nearly devastated by the 2011 tsunami

Japanese divemaster Ryohei Tokumasu lost friends and almost all his possessions in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. He's spent the past four years trying to help others recover what's important to them.

In search of an owner… our reporter tracks down a Japanese diver nearly devastated by the 2011 tsunami
Master brewer - or toji - Emi Machida at the 130-year-old Machida Brewery in Gunma, Japan. Under her direction, her family's premium sake has won gold seven times at the Annual Japan Sake Awards.

Brewing sake in Japan is becoming a woman's game — again

In ancient times, it's said that brewing sake was a women's craft. But for the past few hundred years women have been forbidden from brewing. That's changing in big ways.

Brewing sake in Japan is becoming a woman's game — again
An LGBT couple in Japan celebrate their nuptials.

Why an anime character can be openly gay in Japan, but you can’t

In April, Shibuya became the first area in Tokyo — and all of Japan — to recognize same-sex marriage. But attitudes on LGBT rights are just starting to change in Japan and one startup is trying to push that conversation forward.

Why an anime character can be openly gay in Japan, but you can’t
Masahiko Kakutani is now the main grower or farmer behind ‘Tokyo Salad,’ the Tokyo Metro’s new farming enterprise, which is housed underneath the Tozai Line.

If you run out of space for farming, look to the subway

When you think of farming, what typically comes to mind is rolling pastures and open skies. But in Tokyo, you can think subway tracks and grow lights. The transit authority has opened a farm.

If you run out of space for farming, look to the subway