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If you read one thing today · Insider
New Zealand Deported a Japanese Porn Star. Is Japan’s Porn Law to Blame?
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Get a quote today → Overwhelmed Tourist Spot in Japan Closes After Only One Week
Exactly what caused this crater lake destination to close down after just one week? In a nutshell, operational…
It Takes Residents 2 Hours to Leave Home at This Nara Tourist Destination
Soni Village has beautiful fields of Japanese silver grass, and also a somewhat unique overtourism problem.
What Happens If You Get Sick While Traveling in Japan?
Sick in Japan? Don't panic. Learn where tourists can get care, what it costs, and why travel insurance…
Japan’s Love Hotels Advertising as Ordinary Hotels is Biting Travelers (Not in the Good Way)
Sometimes, love hotels mask themselves as ordinary hotels. Learn the key differences and what to look for when…
Happening Bars: Can Foreigners Actually Get Into Japan’s Sex Clubs?
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A Crime-Free Kabukicho? Tokyo Police Start “Purging” Touts and Scouts
Touts and scouts in Kabukicho say they feel they're in the middle of a crackdown. Will this new…
21 Soaplands Shut Overnight, Leaving Japanese Sex Workers High and Dry
The incident highlights the shift in sex-related businesses in Japan - and the precarious situation of sex workers.
Japanese Women Increasingly Trafficked Overseas for Sex Work by Scout Groups
The groups have made a killing by recruiting financially vulnerable women. Ordinary Japanese travelers are feeling the blowback.
Vegetarian in Japan? Watch Out for the Fish Stock
While Japanese cuisine might seem vegetarian-friendly on the surface, one of its most common seasonings is fish-based and…
Shake (鮭) vs. Salmon (サーモン): How Norwegian Salmon Became a Sushi Staple in Japan
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Is That Izakaya a Trap? Japanese Eaters Say Watch Out for These Warning Signs
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Japan Doesn’t Trust JR East’s Suica Mascot Vote. Blame the Takanawa Gateway Affair
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An Old Public Bathhouse in Kyoto Becomes a Concert Venue
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Japan’s Extreme Heat is Killing Off Its Cultural Traditions One by One
As Japan gets hotter, age-old cultural rituals such as radio calisthenics, going to the beach, and even Obon…
An Ex-Gyaru Built Share Houses for the Single Mothers Japan’s Landlords Won’t Take
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Butsukari Ojisan: The Misogynistic Japanese Men Who Love Assaulting Women
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Japanese City Tries Gamification to Get More Husbands to Do Housework
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Why Police Advise Japanese Women Not to Claim Their Lost Property
How a legal oversight allows some men in Japan to turn a nice need into an excuse to…
Keigo Overload? Why Being TOO Polite in Japanese Can Backfire
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Why Are Fewer Japanese Men Calling Themselves “Ore”?
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Why Did Japan Alone Keep Two Layers of Kanji Readings?
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Kanji Kentei: Inside the Japanese Test That Even Japanese People Find Difficult
Forget the JLPT. If you want to take a truly hard Japanese test, check out the Kanji Kentei,…
“He’s a Victim Too”: People Defend Japanese Man Convicted of Female Streamer Mogami Ai’s Murder
Takano Ken’ichi stabbed Satō Airi, known online as Mogami Ai, 55 times. A brutal murder. So why are…
Why Did This School in Japan Quietly Fire a Teacher for Sexual Coercion?
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Japan’s Internet Wants Uchida Riko Executed. Here’s Why That Won’t Happen
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“Accidental” Affair? Japan Supreme Court Reconsiders Cheating Damages Award
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JLPT Seats Are Running Out as Japan Ties More Visas to Japanese Tests
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What surprises Asian immigrants in Japan? From corporate jargon to the country's famously indirect "no," there's a lot…
Japan’s New Permanent-Residency Rules Would Demand Foreigners Out-Earn Most Japanese
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Nara Deer Move Themselves to Osaka – and Nara Doesn’t Want Them Back
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Universal Studios Japan’s First Adults-Only Attraction is Such a Scream, It Requires a Waiver
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20% of Japan’s Manga Artists and Illustrators Say AI Has Cut Their Income
A new Nikkei survey finds that roughly one in five Japanese manga artists and illustrators say generative AI…
Galapagos Rock: Why It’s So Hard for Foreign J-Pop Fans to Buy Concert Tickets in Japan
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40% of Young Japanese Men Don’t Own a TV
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Japan’s Anime and Manga Industries Are Feeling the AI Squeeze
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Japanese Sex Toy Firm Tenga Suffers US Data Breach
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In Japan, Parents Attend Matchmaking Events to Get Their Kids Hitched
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Every Employer in Japan Must Now Protect Its Workers From Customer Harassment
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This New Japanese Service Will Ditch Your Partner For You
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Tokyo Court Awards Damages to Outed Transgender Author
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“Never Hire Ugly Women”: Old Kinokuniya Hiring Memo Shows Japanese Business Has Changed
A resurfaced memo from the 1970s that came under fire when it was exposed in 1982 shows we've…
Japan Doesn’t Love AI As Much As You Think It Does
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A Tokyo Hotel Asked for Her Japanese Name. She Sued Instead
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A former student said her teacher had sex with her in high school. The school fired him -…
How Kusama Yayoi’s Death Puts a Spotlight on Japan’s “Whiteness Problem”
The death of Japanese artist Kusama Yayoi prompted many English-language social media users to revisit her racist screeds.…
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Four different media outlets reported a recent incident of sexual assault in four different ways. Only two of…
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A former maiko who says she was harassed and abused in Japan's geisha world is now telling her…