From historic tales to the morning news: Manga for everyone
There’s likely very few students who haven’t at least paged through one of the manga versions of the classics, like Essays in Idleness or the great Genji Monogatari, to prepare…
Police and government fighting back against junior idols?
An article posted a few weeks ago but recently brought to my attention through Japan Probe: Tokyo Metro Police create dedicated anti-child porn unit A special Tokyo police unit to…
Eating sushi off a naked girl: yay or yuck?
The Japan Times featured an interesting article by Brett Bull about nyotaimori (女体盛り), the custom of feasting on food served atop a [mostly] naked woman. Googling for images for this…
Fuzoku Friday: Finding a job that's right for you (Part II)
Last week we introduced a few of the high-paying part-time jobs (高収入アルバイト) ladies take up to make some cash, and this week we’ll continue with four more career specialties: Chat…
Are the yakuza humorous? Comedian duo play yakuza for a day 苦笑い一杯
While the average Taro will cringe at the mention of the yakuza, it’s clear the culture and myth behind the organization still tickles the fancy of TV viewers in this…
Fuzoku Friday
The fuzoku (風俗) industry, or sex industry, is an integral part of Japan’s underground economy and a multi-billion-dollar operation that is difficult to keep track of actual numbers because of…
2 Channel Devotes A Thread to Jake and Tokyo Vice
In one of the mind baffling things to happen of late, the popular Japanese internet BBS and forum, 2 channel, devoted a thread to me and the book. I suppose…
Salaryman in Japan
You wouldn’t expect The Japan Travel Bureau to put out the finest sociological treatise about the pathology and isolation of modern life in Japan, but here it is. It’s a…