Fukuoka convenience stores to remove yakuza mags

Fan magazines and comic books glorify the yakuza in Japan Fukuoka prefectural police requested March 25 that convenience stores in the prefecture no longer stock yakuza fan magazines. Four chains have already begun removing the products from their racks, while two more say they will do so beginning next month.The stores include Lawson, Family Mart, Mini Stop, Popular, Daily Yamazaki and Circle K Sankus. According to police, a crime prevention group requested in December 2009... Read More

Cabaret worker's union hold first protest

Just translated this story for Japan Today: March 27 – Tokyo’s “Kyabakura Union”–a labor union formed by and for cabaret girls–held their first protest Friday night in Shinjuku’s infamous Kabukicho district. Around 150 members marched through the streets followed by a truck with giant speakers that pumped out music into the neighborhood, shouting things such as “Pay us right!” Some participated in the 80-minute protest wearing... Read More

Fuzoku Friday: The Great Happiness Space

Not a new film but a unique one to be sure, The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief is a 2006 documentary by UK director Jake Clennell that delves into the very visible yet mysterious world of the host club. The Wikipedia entry on host clubs gives a fairly good summary of the business we see in the movie–women paying exorbitant amounts of money to have guys fawn over them–but a trip into The Great Happiness Space puts the industry’s underbelly... Read More

From "Ore Ore" to "Ore wa Yakuza da"–bank scammers adapting to the times

Scammers are adopting new techniques to swindle unsuspecting victims in bank transaction fraud in Osaka Prefecture, according to this article in Sankei News, claiming to be yakuza in order to get small businesses to deposit large amounts of money into their accounts. Previously, transaction fraud was done by scammers pretending to be a relative of the victim–usually an elderly person. Known commonly as an  “Ore Ore” scam, a scammer would call the unsuspecting... Read More

The Otaku Sex Industry: sometimes, the real thing is better?

by John Pakarnian (writing for Japan Subculture Research Center) Taku Hachiro is probably the most unlikely sex symbol in the world. A talento known for his personification of the ultimate otaku stereotype, this Shizuoka native’s long stringy hair, portly figure and gopher-like posture might make him better suited for the back corner of a video arcade than ads for the sex industry. But for over a year he has been promoting deai [hook-up] sites in manga magazines. In today’s... Read More

The darkest month of the year

A blue light installed on the end of a JR train platform as a suicide deterrent. JR theorizes that the lights may help prevent people from jumping because of the color blue's "calming effect." Weekly magazine Shukan Post’s most recent issue contains an interesting article about a topic that likely falls close to home for many dwellers of the Japanese concrete jungle. Train jumpers, a form of suicide Japan is arguably infamous for, are so common in the Tokyo... Read More

Now for something completely different: Visual Kei

A link via Mutantfrog Travelogue: And we thought Johnny’s Jimusho was dodgy; Tokyo Damage Report gives the lowdown on the grime in the Visual Kei industry, from lack of contracts and “band rules” to money laundering. It’s not only the political world that takes cues from the yakuza: In the beginning there was some – how do you say? – rivalry? between them, but they soon became friends, when they realized they could make more by working together. And... Read More