Boy Idols And Dostoevsky Come Together in Bad Lands
Neri has a room in one of the labyrinthine apartments in the notorious Nishinari district of Osaka. This is where homeless and day laborers co-exist in precarious harmony and where…
The Subculturist: The man behind Tokyo’s most infamous city guidebook
For a decade, Steven Schultz was the world’s window into the most extreme and intriguing corners of Tokyo. Until one day, suddenly, he wasn’t.
The Johnny & Associates Scandal: A Silent Japanese Media Was An Accomplice Says Expert Panel
On August 29, Japan witnessed the unfolding of one of its most controversial entertainment revelations. The scandal surrounding the late Johnny Kitagawa, former president of Johnny & Associates, who passed…
Today Japan starts dumping its nuclear waste into the ocean.
"Japan’s decision to go forward with the release of the treated, radioactively contaminated water is not surprising, but certainly disappointing. Both Japan and the IAEA can turn a challenging situation…
O-bon: Festival of The Dead or “Please Feed The Hungry Ghosts”
The "bon" in O-bon (盆) itself refers to the vessels (plates, bowls, tupperware etc) in which offerings are placed for the spirits of the deceased. The physical bowl has come…
The 99% has a Very Different Meaning in Japan
By Henry Rogers Japan has an astonishing 99% conviction rate for suspects going to trial. This has caught the attention of the Human Rights Watch, and the organization has built…
Books on Japan
Contemporary Culture
Dark Side of the Sun
Featured
Jake Adelstein
News
On the Record
Organized Crime
Photo Essays
Politics
Tokyo Vice
Lessons Learned From Encounters With Clickbait Journalists
In the yakuza world they say, “As soon as you get to the top, someone will try to kick you down.” The world of journalism is, sadly, surprisingly “If you’re…
What I’ve Learned In The 30 Years Since I Became A Reporter: The 12 Rules Of Being A Good Journalist In Japan
Share your data. The internet is a vast and endless storage hub. If you’ve written something the world should know--put up supporting data and documents on the web, maybe in…
What This Means (a short-story about love and marriage in Japan during the pandemic)
And then she would pretend to pout which was another cue for me to massage the back of her feet, and then we'd head off to the bedroom or just…
Beyblades X Will Rock Your World!
Beyblades: A toy, or much more? By Henry Rogers Two children sit in a dark basement with stern looks on their faces. Between them sits an arena, a place where…