SOCIETY
4,000 Singles, One Theme Park: How Japan’s Mass Blind Date Brought People Together
A unique event in Saitama opened up an amusement park to men and women. The catch? You needed to find a partner…
News
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SOCIETY
FOOD
The World Loves Japanese Food. So Why Does Japanese Bento Get Kids Bullied Abroad?
A Japanese mother in Canada took to social media after her daughter started bringing her homemade bento home untouched, too afraid to…
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Kanji Forever? Why Japan Still Uses Chinese Characters, But Korea Mostly Doesn’t
Japan spent a century trying to abolish kanji, from an 1866 petition to the shogun to a postwar novelist who wanted Japan…
FOOD
Japan’s Bear Crisis Is Putting Bear Meat on the Menu
As bear populations expand and attacks increase, Japan is looking to turn an environmental challenge into a culinary trend with bear meat.
CULTURE
Bar Lupin: Drink Where Japan’s Modern Literary Masters Hung Out
In a Ginza basement, Bar Lupin has poured drinks since 1928 for Dazai Osamu, Ango, and other Japanese literary greats.
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…
WOMEN
Japanese Announcer Uses Common-Law Marriage to Dodge Country’s Surname Law
TBS announcer Yamamoto Erika kept her name by choosing common-law marriage over a legal one - but she'll get married if the…
LAW & CRIME
Japan’s Internet Wants Uchida Riko Executed. Here’s Why That Won’t Happen
The Internet is calling for blood in the brutal murder of a 17-year-old girl. But prosecutors are following decades of precedent.