Japan Subculture Research Center

Nobody expects realism in video games but someday they might. The popular King of Bugs (ムシキング） video games series is one in which players select their bug and fight off arthropod…

Police found a cache of over 3,600 uncensored DVDs, including some containing child pornography, at a Sumida-ku apartment on January 12 after discovering the operation from fliers posted on the…

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…

A Yamagata man was arrested Jan 18 for public obscenity after he stripped nude inside a Tohoku Shinkansen while stopped at JR Morioka Stn. The 32-year-old man told police he got undressed…

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…

Younger Japanese appear less likely to regard the yakuza as a menace, and one in ten of them consider Japan’s organized crime groups to be a necessary evil, a recent…

It has been revealed that a member of the Kyushu-based Kudo-kai was appointed as a representative to help carry out the 2010 national census after being recommended by the city…

A Saitama-based Self Defense Force human resources manager was arrested on charges of public indecency December 28 after he reportedly brought his own “mystery meat” to a McDonalds drive-thru in…

It’s almost 2011 everywhere in the world. It’s the first day of the new year where I am now. 2010 was a long, hard year. It ended well. Our humble…

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…