What would you do if you were suddenly assaulted on the street? Could you defend yourself even if the attacker had a knife? Though Tetsundo Tanabe is a master of several kinds of martial arts and the president of a security company, he insists ...

Think about how difficult it would be if all our lifelines — water, gas and electricity — were suddenly cut off. In the event of a major earthquake, we would have to do more than just ponder these hardships. And it would go on ...

Be they fashion- or health-related, there are products galore to answer our every foot need. In Japan, many are wrapped up in trends, traditional culture and daily habits. Take, for example, the popularity of mules and sandals. Even though they are usually worn sockless, ...

When 645 guests descended on Tokyo’s New Takanawa Hotel last month to celebrate the marriage of 46-year-old former pop idol Hideki Saijo to Miki Makihara, a 28-year-old “office lady” he’d been dating since the fall, the starstruck media gushed at length over the “super ...

Imagine you are a bride. At your wedding reception, you visit each table for “candle service.” Lighting one on each table you greet guests, all of whom congratulate you, clapping their hands. This would be a scene from an ordinary reception. But what if ...

If you live in an old apartment or condominium complex of fewer than 10 units, you might want to check the tap water. Pour some into a clear glass and take a whiff. Does it smell of chlorine? If it does, you don’t have ...

In the pantheon of Japan’s fictional action heroes, it would be hard to find one better known or loved than Ultraman. Now showing on a small screen near you in “Ultraman Cosmos,” the 12th series since he first strode onto the scene in 1966, ...