[Insider] Social media app X's Grok bot is processing user requests to sexualize women without their consent. Cosplayers and artists in Japan have fallen victim - and some of them are pissed. More in this week's article for subscribers below. buff.ly/DQCqCeu

In Japan, even as women demand more support at home from their husbands, cultural attitudes remain stubborn. Instead, some find ways to avoid their spouse’s pleas for housework help - for example, by refusing to go home after work.

Japanese Christians proselytizing outside of Meiji Jingu during Oshogatsu, the largest time of the year for Shinto shrines, crystallizes why I hate Christianity

Boss was first introduced in 1992 by the beverage company Suntory. The company’s logo was designed to resemble an “ideal boss” and may have been inspired by images of author William Faulkner.

Many new residents of Japan assume an International Driving Permit (IDP) will cover them long-term. In reality, it's a temporary bridge, not a residency plan. Once you’re living in Japan, you should assume you’ll eventually need a Japanese license.

Japanese cuisine has a reputation for being healthy. While much of it is, Japan also loves itself some fried foods. While most people know about kara-age, fewer know about its delicious cousin: kushikatsu (串カツ) or deep-fried skewers.

Due to a shrinking workforce and the demanding nature of the work, Japan’s elderly care industry faces a severe labor shortage. The industry no longer debates whether it needs foreign workers. Instead, it's debating how to secure and retain them. buff.ly/UzSbwnt

Both Akira and Evangelion are immensely dense, politically and philosophically charged works of art. Neither can be defined as explicitly left- or right-wing. Instead, they interweave a variety of intriguing political ideologies.

Modern bag charms often echo the role of Japan's omamori. The survey shows this connection, revealing that 70% of respondents described plushes as “like a protective charm.” Young people treat plush charms as emotional guardians.

What do you absolutely *need* to see when you visit Kyoto? Honichi Labo interviewed foreign visitors and asked them about their favorite tourist spots. Here’s their top five, plus another five from us here at Unseen Japan.

"Lord Vader staring down the entrants to Comiket from the rooftop was cool af"

Many foreign residents in Japan worry that the proposed higher residence permit fees will create financial burdens. Students and families on dependent visas could be disproportionately affected.

It's a lot easier to get around these days now that we all carry a computer in our pockets. However, that computer isn’t very useful without a data plan. If you’re going to Japan, here’s why an eSIM for Japan travel is a smart choice.

They're one of the world's most important Japanese diaspora groups. Meet the Japanese-Peruvians, and learn their dramatic history, in our full-length article below.

One freelance journalist says she’s meeting more Japanese women who are entering the overseas sex trade. Some say they’re driven by frustration that their incomes in Japan remain stagnant, no matter how hard they work. buff.ly/lA0geJx

You might pay more to visit the Tokyo National Museum and Japan's other nationally affiliated museums: the government has asked museum boards to consider charging inbound tourists up to 3x what they charge residents. buff.ly/Ip8UklN

This is nothing new for the Finns Party, it seems. Then-Finance Minister Riikka Purra had to apologize in 2023 when social media users unearthed posts she made in which she used racial slurs and mused about shooting immigrants on public transit.

New attractions include a full-scale model, 26 meters in height, of the historic K. Hattori Watch Shop in Ginza, run by the founder of watch maker Seiko, which used to sit in the space now occupied by the Wakō Building. buff.ly/h3UdxNz

During Japan's high-growth era, people used terms like 猛烈社員 (mōretsu shain), a worker who puts their job before everything else and works extremely long hours, to praise extreme dedication. buff.ly/MK6XAVn

So you’ve decided to take the plunge. Enough of the carefully crafted hospitality; you’re ready to make Japan your home, even for a little while. This guide exists for that exact moment—when curiosity turns into commitment. buff.ly/h6HsK3r

As Japan's yen weakens and young women find themselves in host club debt, more are dabbling in overseas sex work. That's leading to more Japanese women being turned back at foreign borders - whether they're sex workers or not. buff.ly/6ZbHkkq

How Japan welcomes the New Year, a key history museum re-opens, moving to Japan, and a shocking tragedy in Tokyo - this and more in our roundup of our best content across platforms in this week's Unseen Japan Newsletter: buff.ly/lgPjQQp

Tokyoites are up in arms over Governor Koike Yuriko's plan to institute garbage collection fees in the area's 23 wards. She claims it's necessary to curtail waste and points to a successful program in Tokyo's Tama as proof that it'll work across the metropolis.

Japan's Shoji Akio realized that competing with a powerhouse like McDonald’s was impossible. So in 1971, he came up with the “hamburg steak set." That marked the birth of Bikkuri Donki, a quiet chain that's proven a surprise hit nationwide.

[Insider] One prefecture in Japan says it may stop hiring foreigners out of concerns over "information privacy" and sensitive data being stolen. The actual threat to data privacy in Japan? USB drives and alcohol. Learn more in our latest for supporters: buff.ly/6bT7cHU

特定技術５（デジタル誹謗中傷分野）

IT’S FINALLY OUT. Please give it a read and leave some love? Many thanks to my incredible editor for being so patient as I obsessively put everything together and tried to make it perfect 🤍✨

Want to move to Japan? Got a visa and are confused about what to do next? We've put together a comprehensive guide of everything you need to know to get employed, set up, and settled into your new home.

Japan doesn't need no stinking foreigners!! Except, maybe, in nursing. And at combinis. And to drive buses. Oh, and also now in shipping! Experts predict the country will be short between 200K and 300K truck drivers by 2030, leaving Japan unable to move up to 40% of goods.

See the Tokyo you never knew existed. Let Unseen Japan Tours craft a custom experience tailored to your interests and guide you to places and events most non-Japanese-speaking tourists can't access.

Japan discards 6.12 million tons of edible food a year. According to Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency, that’s 132 grams a day for every single person in the country. One reason? The lack of take-home options for leftovers.

Investigators found signs that the couple pressed the emergency button inside the sauna. However, the system failed to function. Police later determined that the emergency receiver panel was without power.

Police in Nagoya have discovered who lopped the head off a plastic statue of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the samurai regarded as one of Japan's great unifiers, back in August. Nope, not a foreigner - a cop from Ehime Prefecture. The officer & two others face property damage charges.

Chinese authorities are ordering travel companies to reduce tourism to Japan by a whopping 60%. The move is part of the ongoing fallout from Japanese PM Takaichi Sanae's comments that Japan would defend Taiwan's sovereignty.

Osechi ryori is Japan's traditional New Year's cuisine. How did this tradition begin, and what do all the different foods symbolize? A look into one of Japan's most intricate holiday traditions.

Maebashi’s city assembly had already voted to call for the mayor’s resignation. The body was also considering a vote of no confidence. Ogawa also submitted her own proposal to the assembly, asking to continue as mayor with a 50% pay cut.

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae says she'll work hard for Japan - and wants her fellow citizens to do the same. Her calls concern Takahashi Yukimi, whose daughter Matsuri committed suicide in 2015 in one of Japan's most infamous cases of karōshi (working to death).

When you want to get a choice action shot at your Shinto shrine, but you live in Nara

Well-meaning folk always respond to these stories with, "It's simple, just do X!" But X usually involves some restriction that's bound to piss off a lot of people here - or, at the very least, leave them mourning the convenience they're about to lose thanks to the actions of a handful of assholes

Mie Prefecture says it will consider no longer hiring foreign staff to "protect the confidential information" of residents. The prefecture eliminated nationality requirements for all but certain sensitive positions in 1998. It currently has a single foreigner on staff.

I love the Christmas cake tradition in Japan. Train stations (this is Ebisu) an even combini like 7-Eleven have so many delicious-looking ones for sale and I want them all

New Year's is one of the most important holidays celebrated almost universally throughout the world. New Year's in Japan, or oshōgatsu, is not just the biggest and most important holiday. It’s also the oldest and one of the longest.

“If my mother were to collapse and die, our family relationship would be considered nonexistent," said one lesbian couple's second son. "The past 20 years would be erased completely. This isn’t just about me. It is a problem that many children face.”

The first foreign bus drivers in Japan are hitting the road now. A recent revision to Japan's "specialized skilled worker" immigration category allows hiring immigrant bus drivers to help fill these chronically understaffed positions. Drivers started work on Dec 23rd in Tokyo & Okinawa.

Japanese bus operators are working to defeat the so-called "neighboring seat block," a technique in which someone reserves both seats in a row & then cancels one last minute to get the row to themselves. The tactic cuts into profits & forces some customers onto later buses.

Japan's anti-foreigner backlash is putting the brakes on immigration in key industries. Nursing homes are pushing back, saying they can't remain fully staffed without foreign workers. "They're essential," insists a nursing home director in Gunma Prefecture's Ōizumimachi.

Also known as "Best Okonomiyaki"

Japan's gov officially announced plans to lower passport renewal fees from 15,900 yen ($96) to 7000 yen ($44). The move seems intended to quell local anger over proposed increases to the country's departure tax that will apply to both inbound visitors and citizens equally.

Back in July, police in Fukuoka, Japan arrested a man on a train on obscenity charges for showing five minutes of an adult video to a high school girl seated next to him. His defense? He didn't show it to her - he was just enjoying it by himself! 🧐

If you’ve got some measure of experience with Japanese cuisine, you might have heard of okonomiyaki. This savory pancake is a staple comfort food. However, okonomiyaki– “as you like it” yaki– has more than just one variety. Here's how Hiroshima does it.