Featured stories about Japan
Stories about Japan
30 August 2019
Alphonse Mucha's surprising influence on Japanese manga, anime and “light novels”
In Japan, manga, anime and even 'light novel' creators all claim early an 20th Century Czech Art Nouveau artist and illustrator as an influence.
9 August 2019
Tokyo Interlopers provides a glimpse of life in Japan from a foreign perspective
The full archive of Tokyo Interlopers profiles provides a fascinating glimpse of life in the Japanese metropolis from a foreign perspective.
24 July 2019
Online photo collection gives inside glimpse of Occupation-era Japan—and saga of Japanese-American internment
The Theodore Akimoto Family Collection features more than 250 photographs of postwar Japan.
21 July 2019
Walk the streets of Japan on YouTube with Rambalac
"I started filming my walks just for fun and additional reason to go outside."
6 July 2019
Kim Kardashian, cultural appropriation, and genocide
While combining "Kim Kardashian", "kimono" and "cultural appropriation" into a sentence seems almost comically idiotic, cultural appropriation can be deadly, which is reason enough to take cultural appropriation seriously today.
29 June 2019
‘Stand with Hong Kong': Appeal to G20 leaders on extradition law crisis appears in major international newspapers
Proposed legal amendments would allow Hong Kong residents to be extradited to mainland China's judicial system. Protesters are appealing to G20 leaders for support.
26 June 2019
Kim Kardashian's ‘Kimono’ clothing line causes consternation in Japan and around the world
Kardashian's line of lingerie bears no similarity to its Japanese namesake garment.
22 June 2019
Parents, students threaten to sue Bhutanese employment agency after ‘learn and earn’ debacle in Japan
Many students became sick from physical and mental stress. There were also reports of forced labor, and passport theft and illegal wage deductions by employers in Japan.
15 June 2019
#JBF2019: Japan's Lego Brick Festival 2019 takes to Twitter
More than 270 Lego fans displayed their creations, and the thousands of people who attended Brickfest over the weekend shared photos on Twitter using the hashtag #JBF2019.
13 June 2019
#KuToo: Japan petition against high heels in the workplace gains worldwide support
In Japan, employers are legally entitled to demand female employees wear uncomfortable high heels or pumps.
14 May 2019
Chased by dogs on Google Street View Japan
A cute dog on Google Street View has gone viral on Japanese Twitter, resulting in more than 100,000 retweets.
6 May 2019
Do you really need to learn Japanese to live in Japan?
The more hard-won the lessons we learn about the country, the more some of us realize how mundane life in Japan actually is.
16 April 2019
New online database catalogues nearly 40,000 photos from Japanese wartime occupation of China
A new online database of nearly 40,000 historical images offers a glimpse of life under the wartime occupation of northeast China by Japan.
7 April 2019
New interview with Haruki Murakami looks back on Heisei Japan
"My books seem to be read especially when what we had before suddenly collapsed or disappeared."
25 March 2019
Outgoing baseball superstar Ichiro Suzuki's oddball t-shirts make him fan favorite
Ichiro, who has set more records than any other baseball player, recently announced his retirement.
18 March 2019
Japanese stray cats get VIP treatment on Instagram
An anonymous photographer has befriended and taken thousands of snapshots of stray cats from an undisclosed location in Japan.
9 March 2019
Japanese app that ‘translates’ wives’ words for husbands ignites fierce online backlash
"This app is no more than an easy way out for selfish men who want to avoid the responsibilities of housework and childcare."
3 March 2019
Late night Japanese TV show takes aim at foreign convenience store clerks
According to Nakai, instead of saying "change in 1,000 yen notes" (釣り千円で, or surisenyende), the convenience store clerk said masturbation, or zurizen (ずりせん).
26 February 2019
Life, death, and puppets: the stop-motion animation of Tomoyasu Murata
Murata, born in 1974, has produced films since at least 1998 and has recently gained attention outside of Japan.
14 February 2019
Japanese ads aimed at women criticized for misogyny. Again.
This is the latest in a long line of Japanese ad campaigns that have sparked controversy online for alleged anti-women messaging.
About our Japan coverage
Nevin Thompson is our Japan editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
