The latest Japan travel and culture news

FEATURED

Ninja in Japan: The Reality Behind The Popular Depiction

How accurately do movies, cartoons, and games portray the ninja of Japan? Not very. Learn about the true tradition of the ninja.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Living Unapologetically: Tweet Sparks Conversation on Language Towards Japan’s Disabled

"The truth is you're a burden." Learn how one woman's comments about Japanese attitudes towards disabled citizens sparked a nasty backlash -…

TECHNOLOGY

7-11 Japan Shutters Its Cashless App After Only Four Days

What was supposed to be a huge boon for the struggling convenience store chain became a software engineer's worst nightmare. Learn about…

CULTURE

Visual Kei in Japan: The Freedom to Describe Yourself

How a music-fueled rebellion against conformity and fixed gender roles became a significant cultural movement in Japan - and why some people…

LAW & CRIME

Separate Spousal Surnames: Reformers in Japan Push for Change to Outdated Law

In Japan, married couples must share the same surname. A growing chorus of voices says it's time for that to change.

CULTURE

Nagoya City Suggests the Disabled Use Drones to Scale a Castle

When the city of Nagoya announced the renovated Nagoya Castle would lack an elevator for disabled access, the response was...left than uplifting.

SOCIETY

Fukushima Fallout: Eight Years Later, A Struggle for Normalcy

A Japanese mother on the challenges her family faces after returning to Fukushima - and on how the area is still struggling…

SOCIETY

Hay Fever in Japan: A Man-Made Nationwide Epidemic

How did a condition once thought to be non-existent in Japan become the country's "national illness"? Blame the government, says Krys Suzuki.