Essay
In 1990, journalist Akiyama Toyohiro became the first Japanese astronaut in space. Too bad he had such a rough time of it.
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.
How does Japan like its sushi? Here are the most popular ingredients for the dish - and how its consumption differs abroad.
Tamura Runa beheaded a man in a hotel in Sapporo - and her parents are now standing trial along with her. What happened?
With the HBO adaptation of Tokyo Vice now popular the world over, journalist Jake Adelstein returns with a long-awaited sequel: Tokyo Noir.
A new English translation of Takaoka's Travels by Japanese author Shibusawa Tatsuhiko is a funny, fantastical fever dream.
In 1219, the shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo, samurai lord of all Japan, was slain on the steps of Tsurugaoka Shrine in Kamakura, killed by his own nephew in cold blood. Who was Sanetomo - and why was he assassinated?
The 2024 Shogun TV series stacks up pretty well to history, says a Japanese historian - but the surrounding conversation around "colonialism" is ridiculous.
Want to get in some reps but also need to do your laundry AND belt out some karaoke hits? Good news! This gym in Japan's got you covered.
