Youtube Discord
UNSEEN JAPAN

Latest Japan News & Analysis

Shiomura Ayaka responds to laugher during Diet speech.

Rep. Shiomura Ayaka Pushes Against Teenage Pornography; Colleagues Laugh

Representative Shiomura took to the Diet floor to discuss protecting high schoolers from recruitment into adult videos - and was laughed at for her efforts.
Perhaps the best city to live in Japan.

Japan’s Most Liveable Cities – Ranked with Data

By collecting extensive data on 119 large Japanese cities and scoring them on a variety of factors, we found an answer to a tough question.
Usui Rokuro, who carried out the last samurai vendetta, with blood-splatter

The Last Samurai Vendetta: The Revenge of Usui Rokuro

In 1873, the newly-minted Meiji government banned the age-old practice of kataki-uchi: blood revenge. Seven years later, the son of a murdered samurai would take his vengeance nonetheless.
Etuworopsir (Etorofu) island of the Southern Kuriles seen from orbit.

Renewed Tension in the Southern Kuriles Amidst Ukraine War

Rhetoric on the southern Kuriles, long disputed between Japan and Russia, is again on the rise. We help you get up to speed.

Ambassadors and Armor: Gusoku and the Ukraine War

A viral tweet claims that the Japanese ambassador to Ukraine stayed in Kyiv in his ancestral armor. Much as we love gusoku, it's not true.

The Fish with One Sleeve: A Short Film on a Japanese Trans Experience

The Fish With One Sleeve, by director Tsuyoshi Shoji, is a film about a Japanese trans woman returning to her hometown to see old friends.

Before You Go...

Let’s stay in touch. Get our free newsletter to get a weekly update on our best stories (all human-generated, we promise). You’ll also help keep UJ independent of Google and the social media giants.

Want a preview? Read our archives.

Read our privacy policy