BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
A Popular Japanese Bakery Chain Disappears Overnight
All 28 stores suddenly closed. Lenders and employees left unpaid. Its CEO suddenly missing. What the heck happened to Japan's Bellbe?
business
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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
FOOD
The Japanese Rice Cooker: A History of Trials and Errors
Learn what led to the development of the Japanese rice cooker and how it found a home in just about every Japanese…
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
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…
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
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.
ENTERTAINMENT
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.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
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…
FEATURED
Coffee in Japan: A Short, Tasty History
Did you know canned coffee is a Japanese invention? Learn how coffee went from foreign luxury to everyday staple in Japan.
LIVING IN JAPAN
In Praise of the Japanese Toilet Seat
When is a toilet not just a toilet? We have the straight poop on Japan's mighty contributions to the art of elimination.