Japan is a great nation of customizers, adapters, and modifiers. You can see it in the cuisine, which is often a fusion of different influences and turned into something new.
It's also evident in various subcultures.
Though original content is common too, Doujinshi (privately printed/bound magazines and manga) are sometimes a type of fan fiction, where people make their own versions of popular professional manga and anime.
Cosplay is similarly derivative. Fans dress up as their favorite characters and put a new spin on the franchise.
But when does derivation go too far? When it's ...
Police in Tokyo have arrested a 40-year-old man for employing a 17-year-old high school student.
Takeshi Shikano runs a sex industry business in Ikebukuro. He has been arrested on suspicion of violating the child welfare law for employing the high schooler and either making her or allowing her to engage in sex work.
Media reports about the arrest do not specify what kind of sex work, which took place in a rented room in the neighborhood in November last year. The police, though, termed it JK rifure -- or high female high school student reflexology -- service, where cuddles and so on are ...
One of the most sensational stories that has gripped the Japanese media over the past few weeks has involved the arrests and deportations in the Philippines of several young Japanese citizens, who were allegedly part of the "Luffy group" responsible robbery and fraud since 2021 (including from behind bars). The name of the gang is a reference to the manga and anime franchise One Piece.
One of the most recently detained citizens was 25-year-old Hitomi Kumai. Japanese police issued a warrant for her arrest last September on fraud charges. She is accused of making phone calls tricking people ...
We've written before about the problem of scams in the Japanese "dating site" industry, where customers think they are interacting with real women who want to meet them but are actually exchanging messages with someone (perhaps even a man) who is trying to ensure they keep paying the membership fees for as long as possible.
In a recent article on Japan Today, someone apparently interviewed two such scammers.
The first is actually just someone who worked as a cheap hostess bar. We don't think this qualifies, since though it is possible for a customer to take a hostess out on a date, it's not ...
You would think that a company as large and successful as Soft on Demand would have an army of lawyers and legal advisors on retainer, and that they would consult them carefully when launching a major and costly new project. Or perhaps they did and their team simply wasn't doing their job right.
Either way, our proverbial jaw hit the floor when we read this news.
On March 16, it was announced by Tokyo Metropolitan Police that the 40-year-old CEO of SOD -- the biggest porn producer in Japan -- has been arrested for violation of the fuzoku law. You might presume this is related to ...
The flight attendant is, of course, a much-fetishized occupation. They rank highly among male fantasies, whether that's joining the mile high club mid-flight while receiving some extra service, or having a liaison at an airport hotel during a stop between flights. Themed costumes are one way to sate your appetite for flight attendant sex role plays (and if you're alone, how about a flight attendant pocket pussy?).
Other guys adopt a different approach, it seems.
According to a report from the Kyodo news agency, around 70% of Japanese flight attendants say people have taken photos of them ...
Japan is famous for its low crime, but it depends on what kind of crime and how you measure things. And it doesn't mean that crime is not on the rise in certain areas.
According to recent media reports, child abuse cases continue to climb, with police recording 2,181 in 2022 (up from 2,174 the previous year) -- a new record.
Stalking cases are also at a record high, the National Police Agency said on March 2, as were domestic violence consultations, though there was a slight fall in the number of DV cases in which the police took action or made an arrest. (It should be noted that the ...
We've said it before and we'll say it again: the idol world is dodgy.
Let's be loud and clear: we hope the young women (well, girls -- they are usually young teenagers) know about these potential risks before they get into the industry.
Sure, there are respectable managers out there, but bad apples and the bunch and all that. The industry is highly competitive and exploitative, known for making its young members work long hours for little pay, and for sexual abuse (no doubt partly accepted by people in the industry as the equivalent of the casting couch).
The media has reported another ...
The national age of consent in Japan is 13 -- an age that many find surprisingly low.
Japan is mulling raising the age of consent, according to media reports. A justice ministry panel last Friday proposed a major overhaul of sex crime legislation that would include raising the age to 16, along with clarifying rape prosecution requirements and criminalizing voyeurism (strangely, it's currently not illegal to secretly film someone for sexual purposes).
This is not a new discussion. There are regular calls to raise the age of consent in Japan, which has not changed since 1907. In 2019, a ...
There have been various scandals about YouTubers, proving that these new kinds of celebrities are as fallible as the rest of us. But this one is quite a bit more serious than the others.
A former member of the YouTuber group Kindan Boys (禁断ボーイズ) has been arrested on suspicion of prostitution.
According to various media reports on February 14, Mohrii (Kohei Mori) is accused of recruiting clients via a dating app by posing as a woman. Another four members of an alleged prostitution ring were also arrested. Mori's role was to send messages and reel patrons in.
Police believe the ...
