The Incomplete Transsexual—a photo essay from Sanya

Tokyo, by Dan Ryan It was a little like the scenario in that Kinks song “Lola”, but only in passing. I met her in a little place called Seoul Bar, which is in a rundown section of northeast Tokyo called Sanya. At first I thought her was a him, and she sounded like a man [...]

The Phantoms of Narita Airport: The Forgotten Warriors In Fading Green Fields

“It is much more than stress. Can you see the working conditions of these farmers? Can you see the iron fences surrounding their land? Is this human? Our combat is about the protection of our basic human rights to live and work and so much more.”
Koji Kitahara, 91, Secretary General and Leader of the League Against the Construction of Narita Airport.

Cutting Subsidies to Chongryun`s Schools Punishes Zainichi Koreans Not Pyongyang

  Nicholas A. R. Fraser Why is Japan punishing zainichi Korean schools for North Korea`s bad behaviour? In December of last year newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed Hakubun Shimomura, the incoming Minister of MEXT, (Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) to announce publicly a proposal to revise the Free High School Tuition policy [...]

Cherry Blossom Sale In Tokyo! Last chance to 花見！

As eerie as the location sounds, Aoyama Cemetery is far from spooky with hundreds of trees that bloom each spring. The cemetery also contains the graves of several notables including Toshimichi Okubo, one of the founders of modern Japan; Henry Spencer Palmer, the Times’ first correspondent for Japan; and the owner of Hachiko. Yes, Hachiko, the famous dog whose statue serves as a popular meeting place in front of Shibuya station. For history buffs or for someone who wants something different from the same old picnic in a normal park, Aoyama Cemetery is the place to be.

Scenes from a Tokyo Skid Row Clinic

With obvious fondness, Sister Rita goes on to say that despite their backgrounds and personal secrets, “These men have a purity of heart and are very charming. There is no guile in these men.” She sums things up by saying when men come to the clinic off of Sanya’s streets and ask for help “No questions are asked. We’re a family.”

Explore “Possibilities”: A dark play on our primal needs & impulses Tokyo・March 21-24th

In a series of ten satirical vignettes, The Possibilities delves into the murky shadows of our past and questions our most primal needs and impulses. Traversing cultures and eras, The Possibilities is as mysterious as it is compelling.

Corporal Punishment Getting Punished in Japan; Don’t throw pens at the kids!

The Japanese language is rich with expressions and words that extol the virtues of corporal punishment aka taibatsu (体罰) but the penchant some older Japanese have for slapping their younger counterparts has resulted in damages to Japan’s public image and its Olympic bid. In schools, in companies, and especially in the world of professional sports—taibatsu is becoming a problem too big to smack down.

Reconstructing 3/11: Survivors: Last man in the forbidden zone

Reconstructing 3/11 is a thoughtful examination by an impressive list of noted and knowledgeable authors, if I may say so as editor, of the state of Japanese society one year after the devastating natural and man-made disasters of March 11th, 2011. To mark the second anniversary of those events, and to serve as a reminder that the disastrous effects of 311 still linger, the Abiko Free Press is making Reconstructing 3/11 available to a wider audience by providing readers with both eBook and paperback editions. Reconstructing 3/11” will be available as a free Amazon.com download for a limited time until March 14th. To download your free copy click on one of the following links for either Amazon.com, .co.jp, or .co.uk. The print book will be available to order from Amazon within a week.

“Saving 10,000:Winning A War On Suicide” Screened at the National Diet, Publicly Released

“A complete sense of desperation about the apparent hopelessness of the suicide situation pushed me to buy a movie camera and ask a 22 year old former student of mine to operate it. It was a completely ridiculous thing to attempt. Most documentaries on this topic like to show corpses and feed on the tears of tragedy, I call them tragedy vampires.

Japan, Mother of the World’s First Novel Hosts Its First International Literary Festival

Japan, the Mother of World’s First Novel to Hosted its First International Literary Festival, this year.