Soon you may be able to type a new Chinese character: the gender-neutral pronoun

Soon you may be able to type a new Chinese character: the gender-neutral pronoun

【中国語】英語のthey／themにあたる「ノンバイナリー」「Xジェンダー」等を示す新たな漢字、近くキーボードで入力可能になる見込み www.cnn.co.jp/world/352421... 2025年9月にユニコードに追加。非公式の代名詞として10年近い歴史のある言葉で、これまでは「X也」と打ち込まれることが多かった。

Might need to get a Letterboxd Patron subscription so I can change film posters, because, well, uh...

"The [Japanese] government has adopted an ordinance to enforce a revised Civil Code that will introduce joint parental custody of children after divorce, starting on April 1, 2026."

Cause

"Japanese police are calling on people who have a so-called toy gun that can fire real bullets to surrender them by the end of this year or possibly face charges.The gun in question is the Chinese-made Real Gimmick Mini Revolver."

Japan’s labor market and social welfare challenges demand foreign labor, yet the current political framing from Takaichi's new government treats foreigners as a social problem, writes Stefan Aichholzer in his analysis:

"Japan’s low levels of street protest have not produced disengagement; participation has migrated online", Rina Komiya writes, as she explains how digital outrage increasingly manages to derail local inclusion policies in Japan.

Kentucky’s first female governor helped secure one of the most enduring pillars of the U.S.–Japan relationship—far from Washington. In a moving new essay, Duncan J. Barron reflects on Martha Layne Collins and the quiet power of subnational diplomacy.

Late night shopping at the Donki.

What do the trains dream of, when they're parked at the station throughout the night, i wonder.

Shout-out to @kant.bsky.social for taking me (and other friends) to さとう。's live-show tonight!

Bought a new book! 『トランスジェンダーの生活史』by Lily Miyata (宮田りりぃ)

Just saw a gay couple break up at Shinjuku Sanchome Station ("I know you don't love me") and then 5 seconds later I saw another gay couple kabe-donning. The circle of life.

You haven't really been to Japan until you've fallen asleep on a train at least once.

It's funny how much your spatial understanding of Tokyo inevitably ends up shaped by subway and railway lines.

Why We're Boycotting Xbox: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybj1...

Recently met someone who unironically posts and talks in a very LinkedIn-kinda way even outside the context of LinkedIn and I can't help but feel like it's because they simply absorbed that way of speaking through consuming and using LinkedIn way too fucking much.

A physical copy of my research report for the @leidenasiacentre.nl can now be read at Waseda University's Gender and Sexuality Center, btw, after I donated it to them.

One time, a lifetime ago, back when I was 16 or so, a friend said "can't say yaoi without owie", and you know what I did? I diplomatically nodded sagely and let her continue her fujo life in peace.

"In this version [of the poster for Black Box Diaries], Shiori Ito is no longer looking forward; she has been shrunk, her image carved away and obscured by the film’s title. This white void effectively softened the blow of the story, sanitizing it for the Japanese market."

New @unseenjapan.com article by me: LGBTQ People, Advocates Ask Japan’s Politicians to Legalize Marriage Equality Swiftly

Bought two Peko-chan key chains (originally priced at 1900 yen each) for a mere 1000 yen from this guy at Nakano Broadway and then, after I listened to his story about how he has a *really* tall daughter, he gave me a Peko-chan candy case containing a Peko-chan magnet for free.

Asuka and Rei figurines everywhere, but there's so little merch of my GOAT Misato Katsuragi...

Uzumaki-themed 御朱印帳 (little book you use to collect seals from temples and shrines in Japan)

I made delicious, healthy dinner for me and my roommate. (It's rice with some kind of pork meat)

Ahhh the others in my tanka group handwrote furigana on their tanka so I'd have an easier time reading them and looking up the words in the dictionary during today's 歌会 😭💕

De echo van je naam in de lach van de meeuwen...

Really happy with this new Tokyo Review piece. Not only is it an important topic in and of itself, but I think Japanese municipal politics in general deserve much more attention.

A moving documentary. One thing that stood out in particular to me and my friend was Investigator A proposing to Ito he'll treat her to dinner. Did he really not consider it unprofessional and unethical to act in such a manner towards the victim of the case?

About to see Black Box Diaries with a friend.

Spotted a campaign car of the 未来党 (Future Party), which is a party that should not be confused with チームみらい (Team Mirai) or 日本未来の党 (Tomorrow Party of Japan).

Wearing heels today and it's resulting in an extra dose of "Emily, wow, you're so tall!?" from my friends on top of the regular dose I already get on a daily basis in Japan lol

One thing that astounds me as I work on my first Dutch → Japanese translation gig is the significant lack of Dutch ⇆ Japanese resources aside from the two dictionaries I personally work on as a volunteer.

Earthquake again...

They could put a gun against my head and I would still continue to write Pokémon with the accent on the e.

Sometimes I gaze upon a train, and, for a brief, fleeting moment in time, I understand densha otaku's obsession and see the beauty they see.

Was listening to Porter Robinson - "Russian Roulette" and this part suddenly hit different than it did before.

Gender is a performance and I refuse to put on a good show for a bad audience.

Yuki Higashi, a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member for the Constitutional Democratic Party, came out as pansexual while asking Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike to improve the prefecture's "partnership system" for LGBTQ+ couples.

Haru Nemuri was amazing as always

On Human Rights Day 2025, Keir Starmer is calling to get rid of the European Convention on Human Rights with Mette Frederiksen, Giorgia Meloni, and several other European leaders.

About to see my 6th @haru-nemuri.bsky.social live performance!

Just got my first ever Dutch -> Japanese translation gig! (It's mostly just a list of vocabulary for a publisher that makes word search puzzles for language learners)

"With Cocona of the Japanese group XG — who trained and debuted through the K-pop system — revealing on Saturday that they are transmasculine non-binary, the K-pop scene now counts at least four idols who have publicly come out this year."

Really long earthquake...

A store that I could've sworn exclusively sold DVDs when I last visited suddenly sells clothes instead.

お久しぶり