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 [...]

Daily Prophet Flash: DanRad gets Press Pass for Tokyo Vice; The Last Yakuza to be published in 2014

Daniel Radcliffe is set to star in TOKYO VICE. Veteran music video and commercial director Anthony Mandler will direct, based on a script by acclaimed playwright JT Rogers. Le Grisbi Productions’ John Lesher and Adam Kassan are producing. The film is eyeing a start date of first quarter 2014.
Radcliffe will play American reporter Jake Adelstein who, while working at the Yomiuri Shinbun newspaper in Tokyo, covered a beat that included murder, vice, and the yakuza.

Sayonara Speed Tribes (暴走族サヨナラ） opens April 12. Run & catch it!

Japan’s infamous ‘Speed Tribes’ – kamikaze styled biker gangs- have, for decades, delighted would-be rebels and terrorized the general public. Idolized in the underground, demonized by the mass media and hunted by the police, their numbers continue to dwindle into extinction. As an OB (Old Bro) Hazuki is tasked with passing on a dying tradition, but more importantly he must search out a new road or become extinct himself.

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.

Yakuza Comix 3: The complicated world of Japanese suicide, which is sometimes homicide

Japan has a fascination with death and suicide. But sometimes suicide here isn’t simply motivated by “honor” nor is it actually suicide.

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.

JSRC Meets J-Horror Movie Maestro & Discusses 3/11, Fear, Death, Living On

After 3.11, Hideo Nakata, Japanese horror film director famous for “Ring” made a non-fiction documentary movie called Living in the Wake of 3.11, collecting testimonies from various people and victims of the March 11th tsunami disaster in Tohoku.

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.

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.

“Potager,” in Roppongi Hills Serves Vegetable Sushi That Looks Like Real Sushi

With your eyes, you see raw fish, sea weeds, sea-urchin and rice. But it’s all made of vegetables. Welcome to vegetarians! The French restaurant with the Japanese touch, or Japanese with the French touch serves sushi all made of vegetables, carefully selected. Potager, opened its second restaurant in Roppongi Hills two years ago. Aya Kakisawa, [...]