Featured stories about Japan
Stories about Japan
14 June 2018
Taiwanese and Vietnamese activists are working together to pursue justice for the victims of the Vietnam marine life disaster
"This is the pain of Taiwanese. If we experience this kind of pain, we should not then inflict it on Vietnam."
9 June 2018
Japan's Hirokazu Kore'eda wins big at Cannes. Here's a short selection of his films.
"I have never made a film to praise or to criticize something. That kind of filmmaking is nothing but propaganda."
16 May 2018
Japanese high school girls wear badges warning would-be train gropers: ‘I'm not going to take it!
"We want the idea that 'you must have been doing something to attract a chikan' to stop!"
7 May 2018
Tweeting out Japan's idiosyncratic folk customs
Fish heads, jumping frogs and conjugal foxes: one Twitter account takes a look at arcane folk traditions from every corner of Japan.
7 April 2018
How ‘Power Harassment’ and ‘Karoshi’ Continue to Cause Serious Problems for Japanese Workers
“Power harassment”, which includes verbal intimidation, emotional abuse, and forcing employees to work overtime with no pay, and “karoshi“ (or “death from over-work”), are becoming real perils in Japan.
31 March 2018
Experience Tokyo's ‘Street of the Day’ With YouTuber Mimei
Popular Tokyo-based vlogger Mimei shows off the various streets of Japan's most populous city, one day at a time on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and other social media channels.
26 March 2018
Photos of Japanese Soldiers in the Trenches During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905
The colorized stereographs provide a fascinating glimpse into a war that in many ways was a precursor to the events of the 20th century.
17 March 2018
What Japan's 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Mascots Say About Attitudes Toward Disability
On a careful reading of its character description you will notice that unlike its Olympic counterpart, the Paralympic mascot is not explicitly described as “athletic”.
4 March 2018
Black In Tokyo: a Documentary About Life in Japan
The film follows five subjects, with origins ranging from West Africa to the United States, narrating the different cultural challenges and opportunities of living in Tokyo, Japan.
2 March 2018
A Suicide Mentality, on the Precipice of War in Northeast Asia
"As North Korean defectors have reported, there's a possibility that Kim Jong Un’s forces might employ kamikaze tactics if they see that their country cannot withstand attacks by the US."
26 February 2018
Twitter Thread of Observations and Surprising Moments in Japan Goes Viral
When a user experience designer traveled to Tokyo he was surprised and amazed by the small details of daily life. His observations about Japan then went viral on Twitter.
17 February 2018
A Fascinating Glimpse Into the Life of a Popular Chimpanzee in Pre-War Japan
"In the 1930s, one of the most popular animals at Tennoji Zoo in Osaka was Rita the chimpanzee."
11 February 2018
An Introduction to #MeToo in Japan
How is Japan experiencing its own #MeToo moment?
23 January 2018
Chaos in the Capital: Photos of Record Snowfall in Tokyo
Heavy snow shuts down Tokyo and provides a chance to snap stunning pictures.
22 January 2018
Does a New Japanese Robotic Wheelchair Offer “Answers to Problems Disabled People Don't Have”?
"Instead of developing new technologies that might prove unsuitable, why not at the very least also train more professional carers?"
13 January 2018
Japanese Media Struggles to Translate Trump's “Shithole”
"Fascinating that media outlets find it easier to print "shithole" than 'racist' or 'racism'."
12 January 2018
‘We Have Entered the World of Adulthood, so We'll Do Our Best!’ Japan Marks Coming of Age Day
Reunions, revelry and motorized mischief mark Coming of Age Day in Japan.
4 January 2018
Many Japanese Don’t See the Problem With Blackface on New Year’s Eve TV
"Note to japanese performing in #BlackFace: #Blackness is not a punchline nor a prop. Need jokes? Get better writers. Need a black character, get a black actor that speaks Japanese."
30 December 2017
Incarceration of Left-wing Japanese Newspaper Editor Sparks Fears of Threat to Free Speech
"We are very concerned that these types of suppression against citizens by the police will expand. The whole purpose of [conspiracy law] is to repress citizen movement and the press."
15 December 2017
Twitter Japan is Not a Safe Space for Minority Users
"Of respondents who reported they found it unpleasant when coming across discriminatory articles online (as described above), 19.8% said they would refrain from using the Internet."
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