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Yoshiki’s first photo book in 28 years becomes bestseller in Japan
Looks like he’s still got it. There is no question that X Japan’s Yoshiki is among the media elite in Japan. He’s been in the presence of both rock royalty and actual royalty and is well-received...
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Move over ramen and udon, “cup okonomiyaki” has come to play*
*Some actual cooking required Okonomiyaki, a blend of cabbage, meat, and other stuff suspended in a pancake-like matrix, is one of the highlights of Japanese cuisine. However, it’s best enjoyed at the...
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Japanese comedian apologizes for his many “multipurpose toilet affairs”
That was not one of the multiple purposes of those toilets. Earlier this year, the entertainment world was shocked when comedian Ken Watabe was caught in an extramarital affair. The affair part wasn’t...
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Post office manager sacked for embezzling 130 million yen in stamps
Yeah, but when you convert that to dollars… Holy cow! The post office isn’t normally the place one would look to find cunning capers and high stakes intrigue. Even Japanese post offices that double as...
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Chen Mapo Dofu restaurants across Japan offering one free bowl of dandan...
And the offer is good until 13 December only, so hurry up! Chen Mapo Dofu is a chain of Chinese restaurants that specializes in the dish mapo tofu, which is tofu, meat, and rice smothered in a...
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Petition started to stop Doraemon from constantly showing Shizuka in the bath
She’s clean. We get it already. In Japan, there are few children’s franchises as beloved as Doraemon, the story of a robot cat from the future who was sent to help an awkward boy survive his own life....
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Shortage of chocolatey milk enhancer Milo has Japanese resellers licking...
Truly the winter of our discontent. Japan is no stranger to certain food shortages from time to time. Lapses in the butter supply seem to occur on a somewhat regular basis, but our current lack of the...
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Supermarket slip lawsuit ruling influenced by size and color of pumpkin tempura
Once again, the scales of justice hinge on fried vegetables. In April of 2018, a 35-year-old man stopped by a Summit supermarket in Suginami, Tokyo, after work to get a quick bite to eat. However, as...
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Elderly Wakayama woman arrested for hacking her local supermarket’s...
Senior turned to computer fraud to get a discount on her eggs. Bit by bit, self-checkout systems have been popping up in Japanese conveniences stores and supermarkets over the past few years. With...
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Dine out and isolate at the same time at Tokyo’s Prison Restaurant: The Lockup
The Lockup is ringing in the holidays with a very special skull-themed hotpot! Prison Restaurant: The Lockup was a chain of theme restaurants in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya that arrests it customers and...
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Japanese fine art and pill bugs finally become one in BugArts Ukiyo-e series
All artists involved are no longer living, and that’s probably for the best. During this hectic holiday shopping season we all have to think about that one tough-to-buy-for relative or acquaintance in...
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All aboard the “Merry Christmask” train in Mie Prefecture
Look up “bittersweet” in the dictionary and you might just see the Merry Christmask train. Every Christmas season Yokkaichi City, on the outskirts of Nagoya but in Mie Prefecture, holds the annual...
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COVID-19 appears to be suppressing the flu in Japan, number of cases down and...
COVID-19 might have even canceled flu season. As we’ve seen time and time again this year, the COVID-19 pandemic sure has a way of shutting things down. From changes to the Olympics to the Santa...
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Okayama’s Tiger Mask makes final donation of school bags after five years of...
Hopes someone else will pick up the mask from here on out. On 17 December, at the Higenin foster care facility in Kasaoka City, Okayama Prefecture, director Masafumi Takahashi presented a young child...
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Hokkaido man steals front end loader from neighboring town to plow snow in...
He’ll need to steal an excavator too to dig himself out of this hole. A case of constructive crime broke out in the town of Nakafurano in Hokkaido Prefecture late last month when a 45-year-old man was...
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Gunma teacher arrested for spray-gluing coworker’s belongings to desk
Charges against the teacher are likely to stick. Who can forget the time in the hit show The Office when Tim, Jim, Paul, Louis, Diego, Yossi, Timo, or Amit – depending on what version you watched –...
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A life-sized bust of Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star from Osaka is tax...
You’re already a tax write-off. Government schemes aren’t generally referred to as “cool.” In fact, even the Cool Japan initiative turned out to be anything but. However, the Furusato Tax system might...
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Nintendo’s victory over MariCar finalized by Supreme Court of Japan
The final shell was cast in the long legal battle, and it was a blue one. On 25 December, Judge Katsuyuki Kizawa of the Supreme Court of Japan dismissed an appeal by Mari Mobility Development Inc.,...
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Line of figures depicting animals using toilets begins pre-orders three...
Get a set before your fellow art enthusiasts scoop them all up! In the world of capsule toy figure artisans, there are few bigger names that Kunio Sato. I’m sure he needs no introduction, but just to...
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Date of Japanese holiday Setsubun changes to 2 February for first time in 124...
Don’t shove sushi in your friends’ mouths on the wrong day. That would be awkward. Japan has some very interesting and fun traditional holidays, but the one I’ve always enjoyed the most is Setsubun....
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