Nevin Thompson is the Japan Editor for Global Voices. He is a translator, writer, and journalist, and has been connected to Japan for more than twenty years.
Nevin currently lives and works on an island off the West Coast of Canada, and spends about three months each year with his family in Tsuruga, a small city on the Japan Sea Coast, just north of Kyoto.
Profile photo by Jer Clarke.
Latest posts by Nevin Thompson
Japan edges ever closer to a COVID-19 epidemic
As a ship with 454 infected passengers remains quarantined at berth in Yokohama, the likelihood of a potential epidemic within Japan has slowly started to sink in.
‘L Japan’: Kobe couple vlogs about lesbian life
Get an introduction to Japanese lesbian slang and more on this YouTube channel by Kobe residents Miho and Clare.
‘Mario Kart’ cosplay company crashes and burns after appealing Nintendo ruling
Patrons were encouraged to dress up in costumes provided by Maricart as characters from Nintendo's popular 'Mario Kart' series and 'race' around the city, but those days are over.
Subdued recognition in Japan for Sugihara Chiune on 75th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation
As a diplomat in Lithuania in 1940, Sugihara issued 6,000 visas for Jews looking to flee to the Americas via Japan.
What's in a ‘Japanese Adult Cream Pie'?
"Didn't McDonald's Japan understand how bad it sounds in English?" was a common reaction. "What were they thinking?"
Carlos Ghosn's great escape embarrasses Japanese government
The Japanese government has been embarrassed as details of Ghosn's escape expose systemic shortcomings in the country's police and prosecution services, the judicial system, passport security and more.
The intertwined origins of ‘kawaii’ and Japanese queer culture
"A major part of Rune's work that's rarely discussed is the work he did for the magazine Barazoku [...],the first mass-market magazine that catered to same-sex attracted men in Japan.
Popular ‘Nausicaä’ animated movie from Japan performed as kabuki play
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, one of Japan's most popular animated films, will be performed as a kabuki play in December, 2019 in Tokyo.
Pope Francis visit highlights Nagasaki's long Catholic history
The first papal visit to Japan in nearly four decades highlighted the country's historical Christian heritage, identified major challenges faced by the rest of the world.
Japanese arms fair generates protest, puzzlement
While arms fairs have been regularly held in Japan in the past, this is the first such event organized in collaboration between government and industry.
Tashkent theatre offers window into Japanese internment after World War II
Of all the Japanese interned for forced labour by the Soviet Union after the end of the war, about 25,000 were taken to Uzbekistan.
Celebrating “Mundane Halloween” in Japan
"Mundane Halloween" has become an October tradition in Japan.
Undercover journalist exposes harsh working conditions at Amazon warehouse in Japan
A new book by a Japanese investigative reporter exposes deadly working conditions at a giant Amazon facility just outside of Tokyo.
Popular Twitter thread highlights dozens of examples of Japan's ‘Bubble-era’ PoMo architecture
Every corner of Japan features examples of postmodern architecture.
Residents of Japanese region slammed by typhoon fear they are being forgotten
Much of the coverage of Typhoon Faxai has focused only on how people in Tokyo, Japan's nexus of business, government, and media, were affected.
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.
Vitriolic response to art exhibit tests the limits of freedom of speech in Japan
A controversial art exhibition at an arts festival in Japan has led to government criticism, threats, at least one arrest, protests by artists and questions about freedom of expression.
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.
Election focuses spotlight on disability issues in Japan
Kimura Eiko and Funago Yasuhiko, who both rely on motorized wheelchairs and caregiver support in order to carry out daily tasks, were elected to the upper house of Japan's parliament.
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.
