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Japan Subculture Research Center

A guide to the Japanese underworld, Japanese pop-culture, yakuza and everything dark under the sun.

Month: February 2014

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  • The bad aftertaste of Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox’s collapse

The bad aftertaste of Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox’s collapse

“Essentially,” said the former employee, “Mt. Gox was a dysfunctional organization. Nobody was doing accounting reconciliation and there was an exploitable fault in the transaction system that allowed people to…

The Yakuza’s Impact on the Japanese Economy

Eric Messersmith is a lecturer at the Institute for Asian Studies, Florida International University. He received his B.A. from the University of Miami, his MBA and Ph.D. from the University…

Japanese men take paternity leave in record numbers: 2.6% in 2011

by Lucie Prunier When one thinks of a Japanese family, what usually comes to mind is the image of a male breadwinner household, in which the father is mostly absent…

Japan’s Antinuclear Movement, Post-3/11

By Douglas Miller Antinuclear protest movements sprang up in and around Tokyo after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. Japan’s antinuclear movement has since waned,…

Outsiders Amongst Outsiders’: A Cultural Criminological Perspective on the Sub-Subcultural World of Women in the Yakuza Underworld

Rie Alkemade  Abstract: This research explores a lesser-known aspect of the infamous yakuza subculture: the wives. Implementing a triangulation of methods and embracing a cultural criminological perspective, this thesis aims…

Women of the Yakuza

Born and raised in Tokyo, Rie Alkemade holds a masters degree in Global Criminology from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Interested in the phenomenon of organized crime, she decided to focus…

Stalking in Japan: Another needless death

(This was originally posted on February 18th, 2014. A day later, a woman in Gunma Prefecture was most probably shot to death by her stalker)  February 21st, 2014 . Updated…

“If she bleeds, she can’t lead…” Sexist, Pro-nuclear, LDP loyalist Masuzoe Elected Tokyo Governor

“Women are not normal when they are on their period. They are abnormal. You can’t possibly let them make critical decisions about the country [during their periods], such as whether…

A Benediction For The Bereaved

May the frightened cease to be afraid And those bound be freed. May the powerless find power And may people think of benefiting each other.

High-Heel Thief Now Cooling His Heels In Lock-Up; Ginza Hostesses Breathe Easy

High-Heel Thief Now Cooling His Heels In Lock-Up; Ginza Hostesses Breathe Easy. Tokyo's best gumshoes catch high-heel stealing thief.