• Wed. Apr 30th, 2025

Japan Subculture Research Center

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

Born With It (生まれつき): Short film captures the angst of being a black child in Japan

An American filmmaker, Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, from Texas, depicts this struggle to be accepted as a dark skinned black man in Japan in his award winning short film Born With It(生まれつき).…

“Eriko’s Facebook Life”/The Amazing Japanese Wife: Part 4

What I leave out is this: I don't want children. I'm fine with being a Japanese Wife but I would never want to be a Japanese Mother. I think about…

Amina Du Jean, Japan’s first black idol, is back with a song “Seppuku”?!

Our favorite idol (アイドル) in Japan, Amina Du Jean, has new EP out. It's called "Seppuku". Ritual disembowling (hara-kiri) has never been cuter or had a better melody. Mishima would…

Good signs: Japan’s APU graduate creates successful deaf cafe in Indonesia

“Fingertalk” a cafe run by the deaf in Indonesia has become a successful philanthropic business in Indonesia. It owes its success to the experience and determination of Dissa Syakina Ahdanisa,…

The Amazing Japanese Wife Part 3: A Man Needs His Carcinogen

Seiko and I still share the same bedroom but sleep in single beds placed two feet apart, because she claimed my snoring bothered the hell out of her. I understand…

Is Japan’s Press Partially Responsible For The Decline Of Press Freedom?

Government officials have shied away from holding press conferences in the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan (FCCJ) to avoid being faced with tough questions. Instead, they prefer to have private…

Swimming With Dolphins In Tokyo (Miyakejima)

    How many of you have ‘swimming with dolphins’ on your bucket list? Well, I am one who have always wanted to do that ever since I saw a…

Most Evil Corporation Of The Year In Japan Award 2015: 711 Japan?

Power harassment, sexual harassment, unpaid overtime, extended work hours, discrimination, casualization, short-term employment contract, etc…Japan’s workers have been ground down by companies that repeat these practices and sometimes even drive…

Japan’s Board Game “The Hellish Game Of Life” Is Terrifyingly Realistic

  So you’ve just arrived in Japan and you’re experiencing culture shock. Will you ever acclimate? If you want to understand Japanese life, try playing “The Game of Life.” It’s…

A Few Words On ‘Why’ I Married My Japanese Husband (Just in case you wanted to know…)

I'm always happy to engage people in English conversation in Japan--hey, I was an English conversation instructor and sometimes still enjoy teaching some of my favorite students! I also take…