• Fri. Apr 4th, 2025

Japan Subculture Research Center

A guide to the Japanese underworld, Japanese pop-culture, yakuza and everything dark under the sun.

The last Japanese man remaining in Kazakhstan: A Kafkian tale of the plight of a Japanese POW in the Soviet Union

Richard Orange, noted foreign correspondent and Ikuru Kuwajima, a photojournalist in Central Asia and long-time contributor to Japan Subculture Research Center, worked to put together this this fascinating piece about…

How to speak dramatic death and destruction: yakuza lingo

Film buffs and Japanophiles delight: The Japan Times ran a great article by film reviewer Mark Schilling about lines in various yakuza flicks, using some solid classics like the Jingi…

Sumo Wrestlers Fixed Matches, But Who Gave The Orders?

Japanese police sources are saying that there is evidence sumo wrestlers contacted each other via cell-phone to fix sumo matches in advance.  AFP has an excellent piece on the recent…

Event: Yakuza fiction vs fact at the New York Japan Society

For those in the New York area, Jake Adelstein will be appearing at the Japan Society’s event, “Yakuza in Popular Media & Real Life: Cracks & Chasms”, on March 10…

Pervy police inspector wrangles kiss out of fellow officer

A Hyogo officer had aggravated assault filed against him after he forced a subordinate female officer to kiss him in their police car while on patrol. Hyogo police officials apologised…

In Tokyo, Komatsu-gumi head arrested for extortion; Yamaguchi Kodo-kai Nearing Decimation

Police arrested the head of the Yamaguchi-gumi Kodo-kai-affiliated Komatsu-gumi on January 29 under suspicion of attempted blackmail after he reportedly tried to extort money out of a company executive. Police…

In Battle For King of the Bugs: Saw Beetle Kicks Miyama Beetle Butt New Research Reveals; SEGA Silent on Video Game Repercussions

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…

Two arrested in Sumida-ku child porn bust

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…

Underage Japanese girls learning to sell themselves online

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…

Angry man strips naked on Shinkansen

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…