Japan Subculture Research Center

I feel funny writing about personal things, but the anniversary of the tsunami in Japan had me thinking a lot about loss, and the unexpected events that change our lives…

There was a brief time after the earthquake when Japan welcomed the yakuza and they welcomed the victims with whatever aid they could provide. As time passes most of them…

According to the Meteorological Agency, Tokyo temperatures today reached 25.3 degrees Celsius making it the earliest “summer day” since readings began in 1876. At the same time, a strong wind…

“A complete sense of desperation about the apparent hopelessness of the suicide situation pushed me to buy a movie camera and ask a 22 year old former student of mine…

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

North Korea launched a missile which saved the entire human race.

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…

The National Police Agency announced recently that there were total of 44 human trafficking cases confirmed by police across Japan in 2012, and a dramatic uptick in the number of domestic…

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…