In a recent interview with Aera, the former AKB48 idol Nana Okada (岡田奈々) has come out as nonbinary.
They don't explicitly also come as bisexual but the 26-year-old does say they are attracted to both men and women, and that they dated a woman back in 2017 (during their tenure in AKB48, which started in 2012).
As readers will remember, Okada was fired from AKB48 over a dating scandal in 2022. Until then, she had been one of the most popular members of the idol group.
For a more in-depth analysis of the interview and what Okada reveals, we recommend this thread. Okada is currently ...
The gentrification of Kabukicho, which has turned the main strip and square into a cleaner, more tourist-friendly place, has not changed the fundamental nature of the district. Just turn a corner and you'll find blowjob parlors and host or hostess clubs galore, not to mention Shinjuku's massive love hotel area right behind.
The dark side of Kabukicho, which gets its name from an unfulfilled plan in the postwar years to build a kabuki theater in the neighborhood, reared its head over the weekend -- in two very unpleasant scenes.
A few weeks ago, someone was thankfully prevented from jumping ...
Papakatsu is the new "sugar daddy" genre of compensated dating. For some, it's an easy way for guys who are middle aged or older with some money to have sex with younger women.
For others, it's a way to fall victim to crime.
In May, a man was almost murdered by woman who looked in reality very different from the cute lady in the pictures she put online.
Now comes a fresh cautionary tale. A 25-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of fraud. According to media reports, the host-addicted Mai Watanabe is accused of swindling three men out of ¥156 million through a romance scam.
She ...
Long-running gravure magazine Weekly Playboy is celebrating its 57th anniversary with a photo shoot featuring the titular number of up-and-coming gradols.
The 57 nubile ladies appeared in white swimsuits in a classroom and other settings in the ambitious photo shoot.
Most of the idols are lesser-known names just starting out on their careers.
There is also an accompanying video showing some behind-the-scenes footage.
The "Nippon gravure" shoot, which was done by veteran gradol photographer Luckman, is published over 16 pages of the November 13, 2023, issue, which has Hina ...
It can be an eye-opening, not to mention obviously voyeuristic, experience to wander in a love hotel district in a Japanese city. Though it's bad form to stare too much, you do get to see couples bustling in and out of the hotels, sometimes romantically, sometimes brazenly, and sometimes surreptitiously, afraid they might get caught.
Walking in, people have a spring in their step (especially the guys), no doubt anticipating what's to come (no pun intended). When they walk out, there's a certain swagger that you can detect in the gait, a kind of pipes-are-empty satisfaction from the guys and ...
The crackdown on happening bars and clubs in Tokyo sadly continues. Even, as in this case, if they have been around for years.
Such venues are places for swinging and tend to be members-only, though this is usually bypassed by making people members when they pay a fee at the entrance.
The legal issue comes with public indecency, since people are engaged in sexual activities in a place accessible to the public like a bar or club. A way to circumvent the law against indecent exposure is to have private playrooms.
The happening bar was 9259 in Shinjuku, which made a nominal claim at being a ...
The biggest story about Halloween in Japan this year has been Shibuya's attempt to cancel it with an insane police presence, another (unenforceable) ban on drinking in the streets for several days (actually in place since 2019), and large amounts of public money spent on advertising and billboards declaring that street parties and people in costumes are not allowed. They even fenced up poor old Hachiko -- what did he do?! -- in an effort to prevent people gathering in the district.
It hasn't stopped people going there, of course, but in lesser numbers and with lower degrees of energy. The ...
Politicians like to show that they are the same as us, the regular public. The advent of social media has been a huge part of this, giving them instant access to a means of sharing their "ordinary" lives with the voters.
So when Shun Otokita of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) went to the sauna after work, he surely thought he was doing something positive when he shared on Twitter (X) a picture about his achievements with keeping his weight down.
The only issue is that he wasn't paying much attention to what he was wearing and where he was standing.
The 40-year-old House of ...
On October 13, NMB48 announced that Fuuwa Kuroda (黒田楓和) was to leave the music group with her graduation performance being on October 26 and last official day as a member on November 5.
However, on October 28, the group announced that Kuroda will instead leave with immediate effect, and won't attend three hand-shaking events as planned on October 29, November 4, and November 5.
Health issues are nominally cited as the reason, but Japanese netizens have speculated that the real reason is much darker.
It is alleged that the 19-year-old made a sex tape with her boyfriend, which has ...
Our good friends at Kanojo Toys, who have the largest and widest selection of Japanese adult toys shipping internationally, are now running a Halloween sale.
Through October 31, you can get 20% off any order (including multiple orders). Just use the promo code Trick to claim your discount.
Of course, this being Halloween, you could get yourself a great costume and indulge your kinks and fetishes in the bedroom (or at a party, if you have adventurous friends). Catgirls, schoolgirls, waitresses, maids, and much, much more. No surprises there, considering Japan is the country that invented ...
