Why Japan's Mainstream Media Can't Be Trusted To Report Objectively On TEPCO (東京電力）

When the earthquake struck Japan on March 11th and knocked out TEPCO’s Fukushima nuclear reactor, setting off a chain reaction of disasters–TEPCO’s chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata was nowhere to be found.  Where was he? He was on a tour of China with members of some of Japan’s largest media outlets–and TEPCO was footing the bill. On [...]

The big question answered: Who gave TEPCO permission to use plutonium at the Reactor #3, when was permission granted, and why?

UPDATE: Thanks to contributions from readers, and some hours of research, I found the answer to the question originally posed here (see original article below). The current governor of Fukushima Prefecture, Sato Yuhei, was the one who unilaterally gave TEPCO permission to use plutonium mixed fuel (MOX) in the Fukushima reactors in August of 2010. [...]

Yakuza: Of the End to be released June 9 with special commemorative sticker

For those of you who don’t follow the Ryu ga Gotoku: Of the End Twitter feed through their nifty application we previously reviewed, it was announced today that the game’s new Japan release date is June 9, 2011. The game’s release had been indefinitely postponed along with a number of other titles due to the [...]

IMAGINE JOURNALIST: JAPAN! Coming soon For Virtual Boy 2! Nintendo DS version already available*

Report wacky news about Japan on TV based on spurious information
Develop your investigative skills but never get to use them because you’re overworked and have no budget for research

TEPCO executives under investigation for charges of professional negligence resulting in death or injury. UPDATE（業務上過失致死傷容疑)

The Japanese police continue their investigation into TEPCO, the managing entity of the Fukushima Nuclear Reactor for charges of professional negligence resulting in death or injury. TEPCO announced on April 3rd that the bodies of two Fukushima workers had been found at Fukushima Reactor #1. The bodies were found on March 30th. The announcement came [...]

Japanese Government Outlaws (Yakuza) Organized Crime Groups; Bans Possession of Child Pornography With Passage Of Criminal Conspiracy Laws

April 1st 2011 (Tokyo, Japan) The National Police Agency announced today an immediate ban on designated organized crime groups and their activities in conjunction with the establishment of Japan’s version of the RICO act, the criminal conspiracy laws/kyobozai（共謀罪).  The Criminal Conspiracy Laws were passed in an extraordinary session of the Diet, where the ruling Democratic [...]

One of Japan's largest festivals, the Sanja Matsuri （三社祭）officially cancelled.

The Asakusa Shrine decided on March 20th to cancel one of Japan’s largest festivals, the Sanja Matsuri (三社祭) in light of the terrible earthquake and disaster that has befallen Japan. According to the website, ” SANJA MATSURI, which is one of the Three Great Festivals of EDO (now Tokyo), is held on the third Saturday [...]

First-ever arrest of Japanese national for making child porn abroad

Police made their first-ever arrest of a Japanese national for producing child pornography while overseas apprehending a 64-year-old man for taking nude photos of a 15-year-old girl while in the Philippines. According to those close to the investigation, the man was a frequent traveller abroad, having spent a total of at least 1,000 days in countries [...]

Child porn group unmasked in southern Japan

Police have uncovered a group of seven child pornographers who are believed to have taken pornographic shots of young elementary school girls, and are currently in the final stages of sending evidence to prosecutors. During their investigation, authorities reportedly collected around 33 million images in relation to the men–the majority of which are child pornography. More [...]

Sumiyoshi-kai member caught in horse race scam

As a departure from baseball and sumo, a Sumiyoshi-kai higher up was arrested for fraud after he was discovered charging money for false tips about horse races. According to police, the 32-year-old yakuza posed as an agent with information about horse races last July, repeatedly scamming 29-year-old member by saying he had information only those [...]