Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Mar 15, 2017

Finding a family in Japan's foreign drag scene

by Manon Billing

Western drag queens living in Tokyo, Kansai and Nagoya discuss the differences between the scene in Japan and back home.

Issues | LAW OF THE LAND Mar 12, 2017

Who gains from corporate governance in Japan?

by Colin P.A. Jones

Perhaps managers need to channel the spooky kid from "The Sixth Sense" and start seeing shareholders everywhere, because that is probably closest to social reality in Japan.

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Mar 12, 2017

Seeing Ainu as they want to be seen

by Shannon Schubert

Portrait project on show in Tokyo is the result of months spent living as part of Hokkaido village community.

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Mar 8, 2017

Literary partnership behind 'Tokyo Nights' cut tragically short, but the story goes on

by Kaori Shoji

English teachers Jim Hickey and Douglas Forrester were offered a two-book deal in early 2016. But within weeks, Forrester was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Mar 5, 2017

Government of Japan, survey thyself

Something landmark happened late last year. Japan’s government undertook a nationwide survey of discrimination toward Japan’s long-term non-Japanese (NJ) residents. The Foreign Residents Survey (FRS), drawn up in 13 languages, was randomly mailed last November to 18,500 NJ residents. It was widely dispersed — ...

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Mar 1, 2017

Building a family with a difference: American couple in Japan explain decision to adopt child with disabilities

by J.J. O'Donoghue

Confronted with hard questions about why they felt the need to adopt, the O'Briens chose to raise Sam, a child with Down syndrome.

Issues | LABOR PAINS Feb 26, 2017

Japanese need to take more leave, starting with when beloved pets pass

by Hifumi Okunuki

A recent survey corroborates the stereotype many folks have of the Japanese worker: In short, their work is endless and breaks are few and far between.

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Feb 22, 2017

Pedophile sting ops roil U.S. forces on Okinawa

by Jon Mitchell

Controversial operations in which sailors pose online as underage girls lead to dozens of NCIS arrests.

Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Feb 19, 2017

Media outside Japan must stop normalizing sumo as an ethno-sport

by Debito Arudou

Foreign correspondents should not pander to stereotypes, passing overt racism off as "tradition" practiced by those mystical, hidebound, inscrutable Japanese.

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Feb 15, 2017

Trump shocks Japan's American expats into action

by Jennifer Teeter and Jason Bartashius

Established political groups see a surge in interest while new organizations form to meet demand.

Issues | LAW OF THE LAND Feb 5, 2017

No country for old emperors

by Colin P.A. Jones

Brushing over precedents and kicking looming threats down the line, a government-appointed panel has dutifully paved the way for a politically convenient one-off abdication.