Insider
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. Japanese users, for the…
Articles by Jay Allen
1,173 articles
Insider
Insider
How Japanese Media Uses Language to Launder Sexual Violence
Four different media outlets reported a recent incident of sexual assault in four different ways. Only two of them called it what…
Sex & Nightlife
Oppai Bars: How Japan’s “Sexy Cabaret” Stay Legal, and Whether Foreigners Can Go
What oppai bars are, how they work, and how Japan's ever-changing entertainment laws helped bring them into being.
Insider
Maiko: I Tried to Leave the Geisha World. They Sent Me a Bill
A former maiko who says she was harassed and abused in Japan's geisha world is now telling her story, including the enormous…
Culture
Why You Still Need Cash in Japan: A Cautionary Tale
You just finished your meal at a Japanese restaurant. Then you realize the store only takes cash. Don't panic - here's what…
Culture
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 dances are suffering.
Insider
A Japanese Soapland Fired Her. So She Turned Them In to the Cops
A soapland allegedly fired a worker after she was sent home with a fever. Here's the story of how she got her…
Insider
The Museum of Roadside Art: Inside The Tokyo Museum Where Sex and Kitsch Collide
Inside Tokyo's Museum of Roadside Art, a Japanese photojournalist's mission to save erotic art others consider too "lowbrow" to preserve.