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Japan Subculture Research Center

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Tohoku disaster: How to help

As I’m sure everyone is aware, Japan was hit by a massive M8.8 earthquake off the coast of Sendai on March 11. As aftershocks still rock most of Honshu, the…

The Coast Guard Agent Who Tried To Rescue Japan: A Humble Hero

Mr. Masaharu Isshiki (一色正春元海上保安官), the former Coast Guard official who released a classified videotape of the Chinese boat incident on Youtube last December, held a press conference at the FCCJ…

First-ever arrest of Japanese national for making child porn abroad

Police made their first-ever arrest of a Japanese national for producing child pornography while overseas apprehending a 64-year-old man for taking nude photos of a 15-year-old girl while in the Philippines.…

Kyoto Prefecture to become the first to ban child pornography, while Japan's Ruling Party does nothing.

You read that right! Kyoto Prefecture announced plans to roll out a policy that will officially outlaw the possession and acquisition of child pornography, with plans to enact the regulations some time this…

Prosecutors demand jurors pull the trigger in shooting trial

Monday saw the opening of a trial against ex-yakuza boss, Takashi Kajiwara, who was accused of attempted murder in the March 2009 shooting of an acquaintance. The defence asserted during the hearing that…

Underage Japanese girls learning to sell themselves online

The plague of child porn has in recent years been facilitated by the spread Internet, writes the Yomiuri in an article sourcing our favorite Polaris Project pundit, Shihoko Fujiwara. “One…

Tokyo LGBT community and supporters protest Ishihara’s homophobic comments

By Mizue Watanabe★ Tokyo’s LGBT community and its supporters held a lecture event January 14 to address the homophobic statements made in early December by Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara. The…

Happy New Year Japan! Don't bite off more than you can chew–it could be fatal. A Special Holiday Public Service Announcement

Man versus Mochi. The epic battle continues as JSRC shines the light on Japan's deadly holiday food: the sweet rice cake aka mochi. How to save yourself and your loved…

Tale of the celebrity cannibal

The Korean custom of eating dogs is something that on occasion mistakenly gets loaded on to the Japanese. To the French and Dutch in the summer of 1981, mention of…

Deai kissa matchmaking cafes more than just a meet n' greet

In the wake of the September murder of a 22-year-old university student by a man she met at a deai kissa, or matchmaking cafe, the Mainichi ran an article (Japanese…