A Light In The Dark Empire: The Man Who Fought TEPCO.

Katsunobu Onda is a writer and investigative journalist who has been chronicling the corporate malfeasance in Japan’s nuclear industry for over two decades and his book Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO): The Dark he Empire 「東京電力・帝国の暗黒」which was published in November of 2007 was the first book to dig deeply into TEPCO’S problems and sounded a warning that no one heeded. In some passages it almost eerily predicts the disaster that took place on March 11th, 2011. The book has recently been re-issued and his new book, The Last Will and Testament of A TEPCO Foreman published in February 2012, using first-hand accounts of the cover-ups, shoddy maintenance, labor abuse and corporate malfeasance at Japan’s largest energy provider, makes a strong case that TEPCO needs to be shut down or taken over by the government in order to prevent yet another tragedy.

The Buddha Of Fukushima 1-Year Later (Post 3/11)

Last year, we told you the story of Naoto Matsumura, Tomioka City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan–the last man standing in  Fukushima’s Forbidden Zone. He will not leave;  he risks an early death because his defiance of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the government is his life now. He is not crazy and he is not [...]

The Melting Sun: Japan's Nuclear Follies

“They (the Japanese power companies including TEPCO) are also seeking to extend the shelf life of their plants to 60 years, double what experts thought prudent when they built the plants. In the context of fewer and shorter inspections, and a record of falsifying safety reports, the implications are unsettling in light of the potential harm of an accident.”–August 24th, 2010, Jeff Kingston in Contemporary Japan: History, Politics, and Social Change Since The 1980s

Let's Convenience Store! The Musical: コンビニへ行こう！

What’s not to like about a Japanese love song that is dedicated to konbini and the people who staff them, that consists of a handful of exchange students kanpai’ing and dancing in store aisles? If Yahoo! Japan’s video charts serve as any indication, absolutely nothing.

"You would be cute, IF you had a tiny face." Japanese facial corset promises cuteness in just 3 minutes!

“I want a tiny face!” It may now be possible for every woman in the world to at last enjoy true cuteness.
All it takes is a pink facial corset and three minutes of horrible pain a day.

The Tears of a Cat: Hello Kitty’s Guide to Japan, English and Japanese/ ハローティの英語で紹介する

There’s something incredibly moving about a single tear dribbling from the tiny eyes of Hello Kitty; her lack of a mouth even makes it all the more poignant

A Virtual Hatsumode (初詣） for our readers. Happy New Year!

The first visit to a shrine at the start of the New Year is important in Japan. We went and filled out a votive tablet (絵馬) for you. Good luck and best wishes in 2012! This is our way of saying thanks for sticking with us and the blog for 2011 and expressing our best [...]

Harness The Cosmic Power Of Meiji Shrine! Tokyo Power Spot Review #1

Jake feels the power.   The Kiyomasa Well (清正井), located in the Meij Jingu (明治神宮) Inner Garden is believed to be one of Tokyo premier power spots. No one is sure when the rumors began but around 2010, Japanese celebrities began whispering that if you took a photo of the well and used it as [...]

“She is the most handsome man you’ll ever see…” A Review Of Takarazuka Revue

The Takarazuka Revue:『清く、正しく、美しく』 “We shall perform with Purity, Sincerity and Beauty”– Japan’s modern Kabuki or just women in drag?–The actresses of Takarazuka are recruited according to esthetic and physical criteria, such as their beauty, their height (taller than average for otokoyaku, 男役, (male performers), their voice and the shape of their face (square face, if possible, for the otokoyaku). Just by naming these criteria, we can see that clichés for male roles are established from the start.

"Shut Down The Nukes, Close The Uranium Mines"…Nuclear Free Japan?

One man in Tohoku left the following suicide note after realizing his land was ruined, ““If there were no nuclear power plants, if there were no nuclear power, this would not have happened.”