Japan’s MOFA threatens ISIS with “strong indignation” if (hypothetical) hostages executed
What makes Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcement particulary surreal and disingenuous is that MOFA and the Japanese government have known that Kenji Goto was being held for a ransom…
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What’s really obscene in Japan? It shouldn’t be the vagina.
A vagina shaped boat. A blueprint for printing a vagina on 3D printer you have to download to see. Is it more obscene than these replicas of porn star vaginas…
From 98-Pound Weakling to Black Belt
By Benjamin Boas Mou ikkai! Do it again! Punching someone properly is an incredibly difficult thing to do. It was not enough to simply drive my fist forward and connect…
Yakuza Rapper Releases Spoken Word Album: Yamazin/Collected Short Stories
Japanese rap has a bad rap. It doesn’t rhyme, not really, it’s almost impossible to follow if you don’t understand Japanese, and most of it is crap. Most of the…
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Reposted: The high price of writing about anti-social forces–and those who pay. 猪狩先生を弔う日々
Igari-san wasn’t an investigative journalist and he wasn’t a saint. But he fought for justice and for truth, and as an investigative journalist, I’ve always believed that’s what our job…
The Year of Dokufu: Poisonous Women in Japan
by Kaori Shoji Wow. What a year THAT was, on a whole lot of levels. The unofficial diagnosis is that things will get worse in the year of the sheep,…
Freedom: A Small Tokyo Bar Where Someone Knows Your Name
The tiny neighborhood bars and watering holes distributed throughout Tokyo are probably as numerous as the stars on a clear night in the Himalayas. Perversely, they’re often the kinds of…
Merry X-Mas Eve Panic
A Japanese Christmas tale of young love, confusion, and happy resolution.
Japan’s Dangerous Tilt to The Right: a report from Hamburg, Germany
Professor Nakano points it out: it is not like Japanese society is outspoken and the government is following, it is exactly the opposite. It is an “elite-driven and not society-driven”…
Book Review: “Why the Japanese Are Beautiful” （日本人はなぜ美しいのか） by Kaori Shoji
Still, Masuno's book is hugely inspiring, if only because it makes us realize the seeds of beauty are within. All we have to do is become aware of it, and…