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  • DJ Police, Save Me Mama Fraud, Big Data: The Words of 2013 Japan

DJ Police, Save Me Mama Fraud, Big Data: The Words of 2013 Japan

母さん助けて詐欺 — Kāsan tasukete sagi. “Mom, I need help!” frauds are the latest version of scams to target mainly elderly Japanese people. The perpetrator calls the victim claiming to be…

Book Review: Tokyo Underworld–a classic on the dark side of Japan

There are very few gaijin (foreigners) who know what happens on the dark side of the rising sun like Robert Whiting. Whiting is an American author and journalist living in…

Japanese rockers sing the truth about post-meltdown Fukushima. Is anyone listening?

"We're living in a material world. A radioactive material world, " jokes the lead singer. "This isn't the future we hoped for." They released their second mini-album "Living in a…

What We Wear About When We Think About Clothes: Musings on Japanese Fashion

Back in the late 20th century, the word on the street about Japanese fashion was that it had the lowest f*ckability points in the world. "I wouldn't want to bed…

Top 10 “Trendy” Words To Understand 30 Years Of Modern Japan

① Cabaret Club/キャバクラ (1985) ② It's best to have a healthy husband, who is rarely home/亭主元気で留守がいい (1986) ③Sexual Harassment/セクシュアル・ハラスメント 同義語 セクハラ (1988) ④Old guy girl/オヤジギャル (1990)

Panties for Smart Phones Become Du Jour in Japan

If your cell-phone is naked, you’re totally behind the fashion curve. Since this spring over a million pure silicone panties were sold in Japan. Silicone may not sound like the…

“You can’t lose at Muse” no longer true. Iconic Roppongi club lost in war on dance

Roppongi's iconic dance club, Muse, became the latest victim of the crackdown on illegal dancing when police announced on Sunday morning that it had raided the club and arrested manager…

Prostitution versus “Prostitution” in Japan (REPOSTING)

originally posted on December 18th, 2009 The Japanese law draws the line between legal and illegal sexual services by whether or not the ball makes it into the goal, so…

Toyoda Designs 100% Driverless Car: HARU2001. Self-determining vehicles are the future!

"Nissan, Honda, everybody is designing a self-driving car. We thought, ‘Hey, what if we take out the human component altogether?’ And that’s how we came up with the HARU2001,” Toyoda…

Fucked Up Puppy? No, Fukuppy is just a mascot lost in translation. (He’s not from Fukushima either)

The text above Fukuppy, announces that he was born as a corporate character for Fukushima Industries. He introduces himself as "Fukuppy" and says the Japanese equivalent of pleased to meet…