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Furuta Junko: The Horrific Murder That Tested Japan
How the case of Furuta Junko led Japan's press to break the rules, and citizens to question the country's juvenile criminal law.
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Ninja in Japan: The Reality Behind The Popular Depiction
How accurately do movies, cartoons, and games portray the ninja of Japan? Not very. Learn about the true tradition of the ninja.
CULTURE
Visual Kei in Japan: The Freedom to Describe Yourself
How a music-fueled rebellion against conformity and fixed gender roles became a significant cultural movement in Japan - and why some people…
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Why Some Westerners in Japan Never Learn Japanese
How a casual tweet promoting an author's new book about Japan blew up into a discussion of Western privilege and Orientalism.
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Blood Oaths and Seppuku: The “Beautiful Death” of Author Mishima Yukio
What drove one of Japan's most acclaimed authors to raise a personal militia, and take a high-ranking general hostage in an attempted…
CULTURE
The Hyakki: Japan’s Frightful Night Parade of Demons
How did Japan's "parade of demons" get its start? Learn about the history behind the creatures who haunt some of Japan's most…
CULTURE
Burakumin: Japan’s Hounded “Untouchables”
While Japan has no formal caste system today, one "underclass" still finds itself routinely hounded and persecuted.
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Sakhalin Island: Japan’s Final Frontier
How Japan's discovery of a large northern island devastated the island's native population - and how Japan lost control when Russia muscled…