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Japan Subculture Research Center

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

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AIDA MAKOTO: Monument To Nothing (Art Exhibition Reviews)

One minute you feel as if you have accidentally walked into an apartment of a man with perverted interests, the next minute you feel as though you are visiting a…

The Best Articles About Japan 2012 (on our blog) :D

Hello Kitty, yakuza working in the nuclear industry, coffee and cigarettes, 2012 was a year chock full of news. Here are some of our favorite stories we ran in 2012.

Gambling. Dopamine.Sex. Drugs. Art. X-mas plans in Japan?

My favorite object of art was “Flight, Flee, Freeze.” Those are the three primary reactions we have to fear. There are objects of fear such as a spider and the…

Graduations and Goodbyes.

Over the three years that I knew her, not once did I hear her complain about her own issues. Instead, she helped others with compassion and love. The numerous posts…

Coffee & Cigarettes Together At Last : Speak Lark, Drink up

Any hard-boiled journalist or cop will tell you that coffee and cigarettes go well together. So I guess it was a stroke of marketing genius for Philip Morris to team…

Life With Zero Electricity: Naoto Matsumura in Fukushima, “it’s Possible”

Tokyo – September 11/ 2012 was the one year and six months anniversary of the big Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster, followed by the Fukushima nuclear accident. The nuclear disaster…

Yasukuni Shrine: The Nation’s Pacifying Shrine That Angers Other Nations

Yasukuni Shrine. 靖国神社. 靖 (Yasu) means "peaceful" "国" (Kuni) means "Nation". "神社" (Jinja) means "Shrine." The Shrine of The Peaceful Nation. And it's true, Japan is now a peaceful nation,…

Demonstrators Oppose Restart of Reactors “The Nuclear Age is Over!”

On May 5th 2012, Japan’s last operating nuclear power plant among a total of 54 nationwide was shut down for a routine maintenance. It was a first time since 1970…

The Buddha Of Fukushima 1-Year Later (Post 3/11)

Last year, we told you the story of Naoto Matsumura, Tomioka City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan–the last man standing in  Fukushima’s Forbidden Zone. He will not leave;  he risks an early…

Harness The Cosmic Power Of Meiji Shrine! Tokyo Power Spot Review #1

  The Kiyomasa Well (清正井), located in the Meij Jingu (明治神宮) Inner Garden is believed to be one of Tokyo premier power spots. No one is sure when the rumors…