Pop Culture

With Yua, the social workers who had been in charge of her case had also been understaffed, which led to carelessness and cutting corners. Yua's parents moved the family from…

Japan Subculture Research Center was founded in 2007 to expose the hidden side of Japan – its underground economy, its transient and strange trends, its robust sex trade, wacky politics,…

限界に挑む会社として継続的な経済成長を達成し、グローバルリーチを支えるための構造を整備するオニツカタイガー。世界征服する日は近い。This past year Onitsuka Tiger celebrated the 50th anniversary of the original Mexico 66, arguably the flagship and best-selling shoe from the storied Japanese brand — The company touts it…

Japan is a country where saving face is paramount—even if that means covering it with snake venom, bee toxin, horse oil, or snail slime. One company in Japan has been…

The titular family in "Shoplifters" give a new slant to the term "living in squalor." Their house looks more like a bizarre crime scene than an actual dwelling for normal…

In terms of celebrity status, sumo wrestlers are on par with kabuki actors, also entrenched in anti-woman tradition. In spite of this (or maybe because of it) there's never a…

"I think being able to speak English will change a Japanese person in the most unexpected ways," she said. "The Japanese language is just not conducive to self-expression, whereas English…

RENUNCIATION OF WAR Article 9. Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and…

"Shonen" isn't a sweat and tears documentary about the underside of Tokyo's sex industry. It is in fact, a fairy tale that showcases the sexual prowess of Tohri Matsuzaka, who…

Cicadas live underground until their final stage of adulthood. When they surface, they attach themselves to a tree bark, shed their skin and fly away, leaving behind their exoskeleton still…