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.

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.”

Bad News: Mysterious Smog (煙霧) Eats Tokyo ★ Good News: It’s Summer?!

According to the Meteorological Agency, Tokyo temperatures today reached 25.3 degrees Celsius making it the earliest “summer day” since readings began in 1876. At the same time, a strong wind from the North filled the air with dust, making visibility less than 10 kilometers, due to “The Smog Of Unknown Origins.”

“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.

Tora-san, Japan’s most famous tramp, is a yakuza? テキ屋

Tora-san, Japan’s most popular movie figure, doesn’t have a home. He’s a tramp, and a tekiya (的屋)–a street-merchant yakuza–who earns his living by traveling in remote Japanese towns and selling his wares. In the very first movie, he even visits a local yakuza office to pay his respects. This scene is allegedly no longer included in televised versions.

Why Japan Has A Rising Military & Defense Budget: a photo essay

“It will take good diplomatic work to strike a balance between taking necessary military measures and not offending or undermining our relationship with China,” said Narushige Michishita, director of the Security and International Studies Program at National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, in Tokyo.

You Don’t Know, Creap! 3 Odd Facts About Japan’s Awkwardly Named Coffee Creamer

Creap, the awkwardly named powdered milk product, was first launched in Showa 35 (1960) around the time that instant coffee became widely sold in Japan. Creap, which actually includes milk, thus differing from non-dairy creamers, was considered the perfect pairing for instant coffee. It doesn’t go bad quickly and just like instant coffee, all you have to do is stir it in hot water and there you have it ready to consume.

Japanese Tattoo Master: “The carving is one’s personal symbol..”

“People’s clothing are the ‘social symbols’ which allows other people to understand whether he/she is a Buddhist monk, a Christian priest, a salary man, or a medical doctor. Therefore the clothes are the symbols constructed by the community. But at the public bath, once naked, no one knows whether you are a monk, a priest, a lawyer or a musician. The tattoo is the individual’s own symbol. It is a different world. People who wear tattoos feel like they live in two different worlds. Usually, ordinary people live in the same society, whether they take off their clothes or whether they wear them.” He said during a tattoo session in his Yokohama studio.

Update: Japanese Citizens Protest Against Japan’s Dolphin Hunting and Whale “Research”

The protestors claim these practices are inhumane, unhealthy, and a waste of taxpayer money. Right wing activists have organized a counter demonstration saying that, “Killing the practice of whale hunting is the same as killing the Japanese people.” (Of course, one might point out that there is no recognized group of merchants killing Japanese people and calling it “Japanese population research.”)