Society
Based in Japan: Luke Bridgford on Starting His Camping Car Venture
Finding freedom on four wheels
Mi Kasa Es Su Kasa? The Unspoken Rules of Umbrellas in Japan
From unspoken etiquette to environmental headaches—what’s really going on with umbrellas in Japan?
What It’s Really Like to Work as a Hostess in Tokyo’s Kabukicho
Life behind the neon
Your Official “Hometown” Is the Imperial Palace? Welcome to Japan’s Honseki System
The bizarre loophole that's turning castles, stadiums and airports into official family homes
The Bullet Train, A Loaded Story
Japan likes to say the Shinkansen arrived just in time for the Olympics. But in truth, it arrived in spite of everything.
Why So Many Japanese Married Couples Sleep in Separate Beds
Exploring sleep culture, relationship dynamics and how space shapes intimacy in Japan
Does It Feel Weird To Be Naked in an Onsen?
What the Japanese bathhouse can teach us about body image
Is Japan’s Cultural Aversion to Public Noise Suppressing Its Birth Rate?
Is Japan’s silence pushing families away?
San-chan: The Shiba Inu That Saved the World
How a man, a dog and the internet united for good
Japan’s Captive Capital: Trillions Locked Up In “Dementia Money”
The growing crisis of inaccessible wealth for Japan’s economy and families
The Door Knockers: Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan
*bing bong*
Based in Japan: Arthell Isom on Building the First Foreign-owned Anime Studio in Japan
Storyteller, entrepreneur and artist
“They Ripped Up My Resignation Letter”: 1 in 5 Japanese Workers in Their 20s Turn to Resignation Agencies
Young workers turn to resignation agencies for their mental health
Based in Japan: What’s Wrong with Sex Education in Japan?
An interview with sex ed teacher June Low
The Samurai’s Legacy in Japanese Corporate Culture
The power of harmony and collaboration
Based in Japan: From Stay-at-Home Mom to Hotel Country Manager
The hardships of rejoining the Japanese workforce for stay-at-home-moms
Japan Now Allows Joint Custody After Divorce—Here’s What Actually Changed
A landmark revision to Japan's Civil Code took effect April 1, 2026, ending a sole-custody system that had been in place for over a century
Being Chinese in Japan
Interviews with Chinese residents in Tokyo
So I Married a Japanese Man…and These Are the Questions I Get
Intercultural relationships come with plenty of rude assumptions.
Shibuya to Introduce ¥2,000 Littering Fines and Mandatory Trash Bins for Restaurants
Shibuya City will introduce on-the-spot littering fines
Ama Divers in Mie: Japan’s Legendary Sea Women Keeping Tradition Alive
Explore the vanishing world of Japan’s ama divers in Ise-Shima, where sea women have free-dived for abalone and pearls for over a thousand years.
Based in Japan: Would You Renovate an Akiya in Tokyo?
How Anton Wormann is reviving abandoned houses with a nod to tradition
Things Women Cannot Do in Japan
And why those rules exist and persist
Scrambling Through Shukatsu
Japan’s daunting system of job-hunting for new graduates
The History of Patriarchy in Japan
And how history rewrote women out of power
Domestic Violence in Japan: Every Third Woman
The prevalence of domestic violence in Japan
What Is Japanese Tradition? — Editor’s Letter
Should Japan stay “traditional”?
Does Japan Allow Dual Citizenship?
Short answer, no, but most people have dual citizenship
Teshima: Not Just Another Island
From overgrowth to island icon, a restored 1943 residence becomes a beacon for community revival
Why Do Birth Rates Plummet Every 60 Years During the Year of the Fire Horse?
Debunking an old, sexist myth
Matcha or Macho: The Performative Male
There's so much more to him than being a meme
Masabumi Hosono: The Japanese Man Who Survived the Titanic
Honor, survival and the moral cost of taking the last lifeboat seat
Woman Marries ChatGPT AI Character After He Proposed
AI marriage in Japan and the future symbol of love
Millennial and Gen Z Work Culture in Japan
How Japan’s Younger Generations Are Redefining Work