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Japan's imperial family waves from a palace balcony to a crowd holding Japanese flags below.

Japan Trend Radar: Kumamoto, Takaichi Criticism, Empress Support

Japanese social media condemned corporate greed, re-iterated their support for an Empress Aiko, and demanded women-only Shinkansen seats.

Silhouetted protesters holding blank placards over a red circle, before Japan's National Diet building.

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Takaichi Wants Japan to “Coexist” With Foreigners. Japan’s Hard Right HATES Her for It

Takaichi Sanae's pledge for "coexistence" with Japan's immigrant population has Japan's online right on the warpath.

Takaichi Sanae speaking behind a bank of microphones, a Japanese flag and red LDP slogan sign behind her

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Japan’s PM Says She Doesn’t Sleep. That’s Gonna Get People Killed.

Japan's PM bragged that she barely sleeps. Why the remark went over like a lead balloon in a country where "death by…

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How “Cool Japan” Ruined Japan’s Cool

Japan could have won big by embracing "Otaku Japan." Instead, it tried to redefine a cool it already had. Here's how it…

Split image: Yani Neko's cat-eared heroine smoking on a balcony, beside the makeshift family from the film Shoplifters.

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The Yani Neko Mirror: Why Japan Won’t Look at Poverty

A new anime tells a complex story of addiction and discrimination. It also sheds a light on a problem many in Japan…

Hashimoto Ai and Satō Jirō sit close on a leather sofa holding coffee mugs in a promo still for Fūfu Bessei Keiji

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Fuji TV Fails Again in Japan Sexual Harassment Scandal

Fuji TV is once again dealing with a public relations crisis. And, once again, it's showing how unequipped it is to handle…

A man stands with legs apart, seen from below, against a busy neon-lit Tokyo street of shops and billboards.

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Urine Nation: Japan’s 150-Years-Long War Against Peeing in Public

During Japan's Edo Era, peeing in the street wasn't a crime, but a contribution to the economy. Here's how Meiji Japan, anxious…

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Japan Discovered MSG. Why Do Even Some Japanese Call It “Poison”?

MSG has been pilloried for decades in the United States. But Japan's "additive-free" movement has also labeled glutamate's most prominent supporter a…

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