Japan’s Labor Ministry Names and Shames “Dark Companies” For Labor Abuse
Burakku kigyō (dark companies, exploitive enterprises) are probably the epitome of everything that’s wrong in Japan today. In 2013, it was among the top trending words of the year. They’re…
Let’s Convenience Store! The Musical: コンビニへ行こう！
What’s not to like about a Japanese love song that is dedicated to konbini and the people who staff them, that consists of a handful of exchange students kanpai’ing and…
Contemporary Culture
Dark Side of the Sun
Featured
Jake Adelstein
Pop Culture
Underground Economy
Yakuza
The Hardest Men In Town: Chronicles of Sin, Sex, Violence and 1975 classic gangster film THE YAKUZA
In honour of Japan’s Celebration of Cinema Day, December 1st, we’ve reposted some reviews and articles on classic films. Some good, some bad, some epic.This was originally posted on March 10th 2011.…
Contemporary Culture
Dark Side of the Sun
Featured
News
On the Record
Sex Industry
Underground Economy
The Realities and “Legal Slavery” of Japan’s Porn Industry
業界全体で知らなかっては済まされないほど若い女性や男性が無理やりポルノに出演させられている現状が我々などの支援団体は目の当たりにしている。ファッションモデル契約と聞いて契約に同意したのに、当日にいきなりポルノ出演と聞かされ台本を渡され、帰りたいやめたいと懇願しても数百万円の違約金を払えと脅され屈する、若干１０代の若者たち。使い捨てにされ、その後の進学・就職や結婚にも大きな影響が出ている。
The 10 Worst Films About Japan*: You Might Only Live Twice But Are These Movies Worth Seeing Once?
Memoirs of a Geisha starring Zhang Ziyi as a ravishing prewar geisha by the name of Sayuri ('white lily'), sinks to basement level lows of pigeon-holing and cultural misunderstanding. As…
DOGLEGS: THE ABLED AND DISABLED FIGHTING TOGETHER TO BREAK DOWN BARRIERS
In Japan, the handicapped have to literally fight for their right to live and be treated with dignity. Some of them do. On 27th July, 19 residents of a nursing…
Confessions of A Yakuza Bodyguard/芸能界のドンの用心棒の告白
It may come across as an excuse but the entertainment industry will never see the end to altercations with the local yakuza regarding profit. When I was requested to be…
Japan’s Classic (Misleading) Pro-Whaling Book: “You can’t tell us what to eat!”
Japan’s fishing traditions have long-been one of its most important aspects, surviving hundreds of years mostly on fish as well as obscure seafood such as sea urchins, squids and eels…
Nikkei buys the Financial Times: Have The Lunatics Taken Over the Asylum?
"The Financial Times broke the story on the massive Olympus Accounting Fraud while Nikkei ignored it and was a mouthpiece for Olympus for the first week. Why should we believe…
Anime Jazz: A Japanese Genre that Really Swings
Jazz and anime go together well in Japan---like mayo on Takoyaki. In both “Bebop” and “Kids on the Slope” there’s a visualization of the coolness of jazz that is rarely…