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UNSEEN JAPAN

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The Japanese Who Came to Call Peru Home - shows Japanese-Peruvian children in front of both countries flags, as well as images of Japanese immigrants and country symbols

The Story of the Japanese Peruvians

They're one of the world's most important Japanese diaspora groups. Meet the Japanese-Peruvians, and learn their dramatic history.
Iboshi Hokuto

Iboshi Hokuto: The Legacy of the Ainu Poet-Activist

Spurred by colonialist propaganda that called his people "a dying race," Iboshi Hokuto spent his short life in service to his belief that "only the Ainu could save the Ainu."
Mibuchi Yoshiko

Mibuchi Yoshiko: How Japan’s Trailblazing Female Lawyer Overcame Prejudice

Until 1933, women in Japan were forbidden from being lawyers. This is the story of how Mibuchi Yoshiko overcame the law - and even her own mother - to become a lawyer and, ultimately, an influential judge.
Hot Potato Chips from Japan

These Japanese Potato Chips Hospitalized Kids – So I Tried Them

Japan isn't known for its spicy food. One snack company, however, has a product out that's so spicy it made national headlines when it hospitalized some high schoolers. Naturally, we had to try it for ourselves.
Japanese astronaut Akiyama Toyohiro in front of a Japanese flag superimposed on an image of earth from space.

Akiyama Toyohiro: The Japanese Astronaut Who Hated Space

In 1990, journalist Akiyama Toyohiro became the first Japanese astronaut in space. Too bad he had such a rough time of it.
Traffic cone strapped to bench in Nakai

Bad Benches: Shinjuku Uses Hostile Architecture Against Street Drinking

Has hostile architecture come to Japan? Social media users decry the rise of benches in Tokyo that seem designed to prevent the one thing a bench was meant to enable: sitting.
Sushi - Japan's most popular sushi ingredients

The Most Popular Sushi Ingredients: How Japanese & Foreign Tastes Differ

How does Japan like its sushi? Here are the most popular ingredients for the dish - and how its consumption differs abroad.
Tamura Runa

Susukino Beheading: Why a Japanese Family is Standing Trial

Tamura Runa beheaded a man in a hotel in Sapporo - and her parents are now standing trial along with her. What happened?
The cover of Tokyo Noir by Jake Adelstein in front of a background depicting Tokyo from above.

Review: Tokyo Noir, Jake Adelstein’s Satisfying Follow-Up to Tokyo Vice

With the HBO adaptation of Tokyo Vice now popular the world over, journalist Jake Adelstein returns with a long-awaited sequel: Tokyo Noir.

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