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Latest Japan News & Analysis

Danchi apartment buildings in Japan

Danchi-Dwellers and Office Denizens: Two More Lesser-Known Tribes of Japan

How post-WWII economics and office culture created two communities whose existence isn't well-known outside of Japan.
woman at home looking sadly out window

Hikidashi-ya: The Shady Business Disguised As Hikikomori Rehabilitation Centers

Hikidashi-ya are self-proclaimed hikikomori “rehabilitation facilities” that claim to be able to treat social withdrawal in children and adults as well as provide mental support and help finding a job. While this sounds like an answered prayer to many parents of hikikomori, the reality is frighteningly different.
Auto accident

The Surprising Reason This Japanese Politician Resigned

Tokyo politician Kinoshita Fumiko's career comes to a screeching halt after it came out that she broke the law...during her re-election.
Company NEET - man with feet on desk

The Company NEET: Japan’s Employee Who’s Hardly Working

Not everyone is working hard in Japan. Meet the company NEET, a new species of employee who's flying under the radar.
Localization is a paramount but often underpaid industry. This image shows an subtitling program and the show Squid Game.

Want Better Localization? Blame Corporate Greed

The entertainment industry’s unwillingness to pay skilled language professionals to produce high-quality localizations is a matter of choice.
Uniqlo store

Time to Pay Up: Campaign Puts Japan’s Uniqlo on Blast

UJ talks with the organizer of a campaign that seeks to make Uniqlo pay back wages to Indonesian workers whom they say the company abandoned.

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