SOCIETY
Why These Special Edition Pokémon Goods Ask for Your Japan National ID
To fight scalpers, the Pokémon Company will use Japan's My Number national ID to verify buyers of its 30th-anniversary cards. Most Japanese…
foreigners
SOCIETY
RACE IN JAPAN
A Nepali Combini Clerk Foiled a Scam in Japan, Even as Politicians Cast Foreigners as Threat
A 24-year-old Nepali convenience-store clerk in Kobe sensed an elderly customer was being scammed and stepped in.
SEX & NIGHTLIFE
Happening Bars: A Guide to Japan’s Hidden Sex Hotspots
What are happening bars? What actually "happens" in one? And the bigger question as a foreigner in Japan: Will they even allow…
SOCIETY
Japan’s New Visa Rules Are Forcing Tokyo’s Immigrant-Run Restaurants to Close
The new capital requirement for the business manager visa is too high a hurdle for many legitimate, profitable, and law-abiding businesses.
INSIDER
[Insider] Shibuya, Burning: How Japan’s Right Exploits the Information Void to Foster Hate
A Japanese nationalist started a fire in Shibuya Crossing and then fled the scene. Japan's right wing blamed the attack on...foreigners?
LIVING IN JAPAN
Japan to Expand Entry Screening and Raise Visa Fees
Traveling and moving to Japan is about to get a lot more expensive, thanks to a proposed set of fee hikes.
INSIDER
Moving to Japan: The ULTIMATE Guide (We’re Not Joking)
Want to move to Japan? About to land and confused about what to do when you get here? Here's everything you need…
LIVING IN JAPAN
Japan May Require Japanese Language Test for Permanent Residency
The Japanese government may also require applicants to take courses in Japanese culture and manners before settling in for the long haul.