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UNSEEN JAPAN

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Ito Shiori looking at the camera

The Betrayal of Itō Shiori: When Lawyers Do More Harm Than Good

Itō Shiori's award-winning documentary BLACK BOX DIARIES still can't be screened in Japan. Is that truly in the interests of justice?
Kodaiji - picture of temple building on the left, beautiful pink tree on the right, and raked stones with colored stripes in the foreground

Frustrated Kyoto Temple Declares Co-Existing With Tourists “Impossible”

The temple's head priest later softened his comments, saying tourists should be educated about "unwritten culture" before entering Japan.
Picture of two aisles of students bowing to a teacher. The picture is taken from behind the students and at the end of the row, you can see a male teacher standing behind a podium and making his own small bow.

Here’s Why Kyoto Schools Are No Longer Bossing Students Around at Exam Time

Kyoto schools have made a change to hallroom announcements, acknowledging that "please" and "thank you" are indeed the magic words
Viennetta - Japanese packaging from Morinaga for its 40th anniversary. Shows a picture of the cake, which is a white ice creame shaped in folds with a chocolate sauce on top and chocolate in-between each fold

Why Is Viennetta Ice Cream Selling in Japan for Black-Market Prices?

A world-famous ice cream brand is disappearing from Japanese markets. Naturally, some people are trying to profit off of that.
PASMO card - picture of a hand holding a silver PASMO card with pink text against a blue background

Tourists Can Now Buy Suica, PASMO Physical Cards Again Starting March 1st

Our long national nightmare is over: Suica and PASMO, deeming the chip shortage over, both say they'll resume sale of the cards.
Dewi Sukarno in a TV segment with her expensive fur coat that she claims a hotel ruined

Dewi Sukarno, Owner of Pricey Fur Coat, Starts New Animal Welfare Party

Right-wing Japanese celeb Dewi Sukarno has started a political party aimed at protecting dogs, cats, and possibly other animals she doesn't like to wear.

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