Contemporary Culture

Japan, the Mother of World’s First Novel to Hosted its First International Literary Festival, this year.

Tora-san, Japan's most popular movie figure, doesn't have a home. He's a tramp, and a tekiya (的屋)--a street-merchant yakuza--who earns his living by traveling in remote Japanese towns and selling…

Mild Seven cigarettes are no more to be found in the smoker's paradise. Japan Tobacco Inc. changed the name of its flagship cigarette brand from "Mild Seven" to "Mevius" in…

In the United States, serving whale meat can cost you decades of jail-time as one sushi chef in Los Angeles recently learned; in Japan it costs you about $10, for…

The Green-Tea/Levitra Martini was highly effective on pancreatic, stomach and prostate tumors. This is a good thing because if you’re going to be taking Levitra, you definitely want a healthy…

For thousands of years, China and Japan have been neighboring countries. Former Japanese ambassador to China, Uichiro Niwa, at a press conference held today, explained it is not possible for…

Blood-Stained Mai Love by Mamoru Oshii is a black comedy about a high school student with a fetish for donating blood and his strange friendship with Mai, a wandering Transylvanian…

The message of "Strong In The Rain" in its tale of foreign and Japanese heroes and villains--and there are both, remains with the reader long after the book is done.…

Creap, the awkwardly named powdered milk product, was first launched in Showa 35 (1960) around the time that instant coffee became widely sold in Japan. Creap, which actually includes milk,…

Hashbrowns refers to a dish of cooked potatoes, typically with onions added, that have been chopped into small pieces and fried until a golden brown. They are often served in…