Blogger Ampontan offers an essay on the history of a matsuri (festival) which changed after the war, and discusses the aims of festivals. Not serious politics, but it's an interesting...

Japan: Sumo Wrestling Takes a Beating

It’s been a tough few months in the world of Sumo wrestling, Japan’s “national sport.” First, Mongolian wrestler Asashoryu, one of two yokozuna (the top wrestling class) returned to his...

In a new blog, Neojaponisme, W. David Marx reports on suppressed reports of pedophilia against a well-known Japanese producer, Johnny Kitagawa. It's a good read on the state of the...

Who do you trust with your yen? Writing in Liberal Japan, blogger Matt Dioguardi points out an interesting irony: it would appear that the government has concluded that teenagers working...

Japan: New Justice Minister wants “automatic” executions

New Justice Minister Hatoyama Kunio, upon taking office on September 25 (actually at his outgoing press conference, before he was reappointed to the position), stated that he supported creating a...

Japanese cameraman killed in Myanmar

During a demonstration on September 27, Japanese photojournalist Nagai Kenji was killed while reporting on the ongoing unrest in Myanmar. Initially, news reports were that Nagai had likely been struck...

Blogger Tobias Harris, a keen observer of politics in Japan, adds some interesting analysis of the transition from the Abe to Fukuda cabinets. He looks at the return of factional...

Japanese blogger and human rights activist Arudou Debito talks about the new biometric immigration procedures for foreigners arriving at Tokyo's Narita Airport, along with the revival of mandatory fingerprinting after...

Japan: Fukuda Slated to Be Next PM

In the Liberal Democratic Party election held on Sunday the 24th, Fukuda Yasuo defeated opponent Aso Taro, and is slated to become the next Prime Minister. He will follow Abe...