News

TRAVEL

Hokkaido Town to Cut Trees Due to Overtourism

Another attraction succumbs to overtourism, as Biei says it'll chop down a cluster of trees that have become a popular photo spot.

LGBTQ

Report Finds Half of School Nurses Rat Out LGBTQ Students to School

The report says 54.2% of school nurses neglect to obtain a student's permission before sharing their gender or sexuality concerns.

SOCIETY

Muslim Cemetery in Miyagi Prefecture Will Proceed Despite Resistance

The prefecture has received 400 objections to the proposed cemetery, which would be the 11th in the country.

SOCIETY

Sexually Explicit Online Ads Are Rampant in Japan. Some Have Had Enough

The sexually explicit ads - some featuring scenes of sexual assault - often appear on aggregation and gaming sites that cater to…

LAW & CRIME

Luigi Mangione: The Parallels to Abe Shinzo’s Assassin

Was Luigi inspired by Japan's most recent folk hero assassin? (Or was it the public healthcare system?)

JAPANESE LANGUAGE

I Tried AI for Japanese Speaking Practice – Here’s What I Learned

People keep telling me AI chatbots are the future of Japanese language learning. So I tried a few. Here's why they're wrong.

ENTERTAINMENT

Bleeding Cash, NHK to Collect “Internet Only” License Fee

The station reported a loss for the third year running. To help plug the hole, it says it plans to collect fees…

FOOD

Why This US Sushi Restaurant Ad Makes Japanese People Scream

A sushi restaurant in the US wanted to promote a "date night" feel for their store - and ended up promoting a…