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You Can't Do That in Japanese Business Anymore! Hanzawa Naoki

You Can’t Do That in Japan (Anymore!): Hanzawa Naoki and Japan’s Modern Business World

The revival of a popular drama is met with huge fanfare and ratings - but some are pointing out that its depiction of Japanese business feels a tad dated.
Falling graph

Abe’s Zombie Government: The PM’s Ratings Are in FreeFall

Abe Shinzo likely won't resign as Japan's Prime Minister any time soon - but the polling numbers are clear: his Cabinet is now the walking dead.
Murasaki Shikibu

Japanese Writing: The Birth of Kana in the Heian Period

How did the hiragana and katakana writing systems come to exist in Japanese? What purpose did they serve? A history of writing in Japan's Heian period.
Japan Prime Minister Abe Shinzo

Will The Abe Government Survive COVID-19?

I look at the history of Abe Shinzo's reign - including his first failed term of office - and consider whether Abe can keep his good luck streak going.
Kid thinking

What Japan’s Thinking: February 2020

What do people in Japan think about Abe's latest scandal, the advent of casinos, the novel coronavirus and other topics? Find out in our member exclusive!
Married an Otaku - picture of a Love Live! advertisement in Akihabara

Help – My Boyfriend’s an Otaku! Should I Dump Him?

What do straight women in Japan think about dating men who are seriously into manga or virtual artists? An online forum provides some interesting insights.
Still shot from Mada Kekkon Dekinai Otoko

Japan’s TV Habits are Changing

Two great recent Japanese dramas failed to draw a TV audience - but they weren't failures. Here's why.
Kaburagi Wataru and Sugishita Ukiyo

The Selfless Lone Wolf in Japanese Drama (Patron Content)

What do a tea-sipping Anglophile detective and a rude freelance doctor have in common? A look at a common archetype in Japanese pop fiction.
End of Japanese Red Army - picture of multiple terrorists from the Japanese Red Army in black and white. In the background, pictures of their symbols and of some of them in revolutionary poses

Japanese Red Army: End of a Global Reign of Terror

How a string of violent attacks and a shifting political landscape spelled the end for the Japanese Red Army.

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