A statue of atomic bomb survivor Sasaki Sadako in Seattle was cut off at its feet. Community members believe the thief was after the statue's valuable metals. Learn more about the horrific crime in our latest.
Ever wanted to drive a real-life "Mario Kart" around Tokyo? You can - but many people who live in Tokyo really wish you wouldn't. Here's why the ride remains so popular yet so controversial - and how it's survived numerous battles with a certain video game company.
I keep trying to tell people that Japanese isn't as hard to learn as it first seems and then Japan does things like have three different train stations with the same kanji read three different ways NOT HELPING GUYS
Japan continues innovating in the area of dating (or...something): Digital Minister Kono Taro says you'll soon be able to use your My Number, the country's national ID, to prove to dating apps that you are actually, truly, single, and not just a married dude on the prowl.
Until recently, non-Japanese speakers interested in reading the works of Japanese mystery writers were mostly out of luck. Thanks to a determined publisher, however, that’s changing. Here are some more Japanese mystery stars you can enjoy in English.
A popular Japanese right-wing meme on social media holds that foreigners are bleeding Japan dry. Is that true? A series of articles citing actual data show that the reality for foreigners living in Japan is far different than right-wingers suggest.
Even Japanese people are surprised to learn what Nagoya’s most popular regional ramen is. A spicy noodle dish, it stands in stark contrast to Nagoya’s other popular dishes like misokatsu and tebasaki.
Read over lists of the greatest Japanese horror films, and you’re sure to encounter Kobayashi Masaki’s 1964 anthology classic Kwaidan. Indeed, if you're inspired to take a venture down into the Japanese netherworld, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better entryway.
Shinjuku Station is often described as a “dungeon”. To help people understand it a bit better, engineer Satoshi Komatsu took open source data from Japan’s Ministry of Justice and made a navigable 3D model of it.
Not to be outdone, Pizza Hut Japan sold a pie with a ridiculous amount of cilantro, which brought out some pretty strong opinions from the “cilantro is life” as well as the “cilantro is soap” factions.
Both Dominos and Pizza Hut Japan are trying to push the envelope with offbeat pizzas they hope can draw social media buzz. Prior to this, Dominos Japan loaded a pizza up with a whopping 600g of pickles.
Dominos Pizza Japan continues to terrorize the country with kaiju-style pie mutations. The latest affront: the Cheese Volcano Pizza, which ups the cheese factor with a literal crater of cheddar cheese sauce in the middle. It’s available here until February 18th.
"How is it that so many Western immigrants and long-term residents of Japan are still unable to speak or understand Japanese? Is it really that big of a problem? Or is there something deeper to this seeming inability, and in some cases complete unwillingness, to learn the native language of the country in which you choose to settle?"
Japan has the best passport in the world. Sadly, fewer people than ever are using it post-pandemic. The already low passport holder rate in Japan has fallen to 19%. One professor from Keio University called the trend “wasteful”.