“I Love You, Ken Takakura”
The criminalization of sodomy that came in with a Western-style legal code in 1872 was repealed eight years later
One Hundred Million Pop Song People
Seazer / Caesar was a futenzoku (Japanese hippie) who dropped out of art-school and joined Terayama’s avant garde theatre troupe in 1969
Can Japan Survive Mass Tourism?
Putting wi-fi on the summit of Mount Fuji is the symbolic start of a long process of de-mystification
Planet Rugby Sends the World a Message
The arrogant hegemon who everyone fears and secretly hopes will slip up is New Zealand, which has a total population of 4.5 million.
Farewell to the Ark
The book has lent its name to a fine, cask-aged barley shochu, apparently much appreciated by Japan’s Crown Prince.
The Year of the Historian
It would be a sign of a more peaceful and stable world if the anniversaries of old conflicts came and went with hardly anyone noticing
What the Nikkei-FT Deal Says about the World (and Japan)
What do Vice, the FT and the WSJ have that the Washington Post, Business Week and many other once iconic titles do not?
Memories of Silk and Straw
Infanticide and the sale of daughters into prostitution were necessary evils
Joey in Japan
Joey “Pepe” Smith is a great raconteur with a boatload of fascinating stories, some of which may even be true.
Japan’s Immigration Dilemma
The role model is Yuichiro Miura, who reached the summit of Mount Everest at the age of 80