I've certainly read pieces that were padded and tedious.

This one genuinely, truly is not. Take the first section: every vignette is tightly constructed; you get a sense of the person, the zeitgeist of fear they were living in, and the arbitrary moment that made All The Difference. This structure is repeated point-by-point for each of the survivors, deliberately, to hammer home each element.

Part II has its own structure, emphasizing the chaos. Each part flows well from one to the next. The entire article is an excellent example of writing. It's clear that the author himself is grappling with what to feel about it all. It's powerful stuff.

There are those articles which talk about a date, and in the process you get to know the whole extended families of the victims, together with a 30 years history of the families.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. For me this is one of the best pieces of reporting I’ve ever read.

This is news writing in non-English plus translation. Translated text is always off-putting, especially beyond same language groups. I found the link to the original if anyone needs it, by the way.

1: https://mainichi.jp/articles/20230728/k00/00m/040/198000c