K. Lou

Society

Why These Special Edition Pokémon Goods Ask for Your Japan National ID

To fight scalpers, the Pokémon Company will use Japan's My Number national ID to verify buyers of its 30th-anniversary cards. Most Japanese…

Race in Japan

A Nepali Combini Clerk Foiled a Scam in Japan, Even as Politicians Cast Foreigners as Threat

A 24-year-old Nepali convenience-store clerk in Kobe sensed an elderly customer was being scammed and stepped in.

LGBTQ

Tokyo Court Awards Damages to Outed Transgender Author

Award-winning author Li Kotomi won a small but symbolic ruling against a lawyer who had been involved in the Aum Shinrikyo trials.

Travel

Shibuya’s Littering Fine Targets Both Tourists and Trashy Locals

Who's making Shibuya a worse place to live? The ward rolls out a new fine targeting not just tourists, but messy locals.

Women

Pink Tax, Japan: Social Media Users Ask Why Women Get Upcharged

The term "pink tax" hasn't trended much in Japan. That changed recently as women went online to compare notes on the subtle…

Culture

When Plushies Take a Seat: Japan’s “Nuikatsu” Boom Collides With Restaurant Manners

A couple of viral incidents online highlight how some restaurants are struggling to handle customers bringing their stuffed +1s.

History

Suzuki Masa: The Samurai’s Daughter Who Helped Found Modern Japanese Nursing

NHK's 2026 morning drama Kaze, Kaoru modeled one of its heroines on a woman most people in Japan have never heard of:…

Society

Is Japan REALLY Trying to Ban Saying “Itadakimasu” at Schools?

Japan's "War on Christmas" is a viral online claim framed as an attack on Japanese culture. Just one problem: it isn't true.