Hi all, I noticed that the book offs in my area have replaced their adult sections. In my opinion not that bad of a decision, thinking about the fact that all these adults sections were right next to the Children's/School book sections. Is this just in the two or three book offs here in my area (northeast Kyoto) or a general policy change?

Hello I’ve been doing a small bit of searching on this thread and I couldn’t find the direct answer that applies to me.

So I was born in Japan, I have an expired Japanese passport and a Japanese birth certificate. I was adopted when I was a baby to American parents and became a naturalized US citizen when I was 6-7 years old.

I know article 11 applies when becoming a citizen of another country but is there any way to apply to become a dual citizen of Japan and the US with my current situation?

Thanks for your help.

So i have been living in japan with technical intern training visa (技能実習生) for 2 years. In last years end of june i got into an accident on the way to my work and had to get surgery which prevented me from working for several months. All the procedure was done by workers accident insurance (rosai hoken). As i could only speak day to day and my work specifically japanese i could not talk to insurance company and it was done by my company and agency company that brought me to japan. I received a health certificate at the end of november that says i have been getting treated by the hospital and sent it to the insurance company. Both my company and the agency havent been talking to the insurance company only when i ask them to. And the compensation money for the days that i didn’t work has yet to be received and both the agency and my company assumed I received the money because the insurance company said it will be done by the end of December but now the insurance company is saying it will take till april for the money to come in. As i have done research it usually takes 1 month and at most 2 so can somebody tell me why is it taking so long or is jt normal for the procedure to be this long

So one of my favorite writers has always been Raymond Chandler, and especially the way he threads L.A. geography through his stories in a way that makes it look like the main character. For those who've been reading Japanese novels - and it can be anything from Nobel nominees to this week's hip new Isekai LN - is there anything you'd say puts a similarly great spotlight on Tokyo's geography? Factual accuracy is nice, but atmosphere's what I'm really after.

I know enough basic Japanese that I think I can get by with untranslated recs, though English ones are most welcome.

(On a vaguely related note, has anyone here read Haruki Murakami's Chandler translations? How's he handle the innumerable similes?)

Hi there. I’ve been in Japan and I hear a lot about the high pressure study life to get a solid career as an adult. But I couldn’t help but notice a large amount of just regular working joes here. Department store workers, chefs, train station help desk staff, hotel staff, traffic directors. Are these the jobs of people who couldn’t cut it or is it normal to not have extremely high or white collar aspirations? Or is studying just a part of the culture and you’re expected to study your butt off whether you have an idea for your future or not?

Hi all!

I've been living in Japan for 4 Months now, and have been living with a host family during a partner city visit in Gifu Prefecture for some weeks before, as well as some weeks in Tokyo last Year. According to this Statistic below, close to 1.6% of Japanese (that is about 1 in 60) are called Sato, yet I have never seen a Sato in real life. Sure I don't check everyones ID, but neither in any of my classes at university, nor in my daughters school nor anywhere else have I seen a Sato.

If I had to guess the most common Japanese Surnames, I'd probably place Tanaka at Nr. 1 (of the 4 People from my Hometowns Japanese Partner City that used to guide us and accompany our group during visits and sightseeing, 3 were Tanaka, and they weren't related). And from the Statistic below, I have met all of the top 15 except for a Sato and a Yoshida.

Could this be some regional distribution thing? I've been mostly in the Kansai Region, could all the Sato be in Tokyo?

According to a Family Name Statistic, the 15 most common Family Names in Japan are:

|| || |1|佐藤|Satō|1,990,000|1.57| |2|鈴木|Suzuki|1,900,000|1.50| |3|高橋|Takahashi|1,470,000|1.16| |4|田中|Tanaka|1,340,000|1.06| |5|渡辺|Watanabe|1,200,000|0.95| |6|伊藤|Itō|1,150,000|0.91| |7|中村|Nakamura|1,080,000|0.85| |8|小林|Kobayashi|1,060,000|0.84| |9|山本|Yamamoto|1,020,000|0.81| |10|加藤|Katō|920,000|0.73| |11|吉田|Yoshida|850,000|—| |12|山田|Yamada|820,000|—| |13|佐々木|Sasaki|710,000|—| |14|山口|Yamaguchi|640,000|—| |15|松本|Matsumoto|630,000|—|

Hi everyone! I’m new to Japanese culture and films, though I’ve been a long-time fan of Japanese manga and anime. Recently, I’ve been diving into Japanese horror movies, especially from the late 90s to mid-2000s, and I’ve noticed some interesting cultural details that I’d love to understand better.

So far, I’ve watched the Ringu series, Howling Village, Pulse (2001), and Cure (1997). While I loved the storytelling and atmosphere, I couldn’t help but notice something about the funeral scenes in Ringu 1 and Howling Village.

In Ringu 1, when the high school student dies, her classmates attend her funeral wearing their school uniforms, while the adults wear black dresses (women) and black suits (men). Similarly, in Howling Village, during the funeral of the lead actress’s brother’s girlfriend, the adults wear black attire, but the kids are dressed in black suits (boys) and black gowns (girls) instead of school uniforms.

I’m curious about a few things:

1. Why do the kids wear school uniforms in Ringu 1 but not in Howling Village? Is this a cultural shift from the late 90s to 2022?
2. Do these movies accurately represent Japanese funeral customs, or are they stylized for storytelling?
3. What’s the significance of the bracelet-like objects held by the attendees in Howling Village?

As someone who lives overseas and isn’t familiar with Japanese culture, I’m just trying to learn more and understand these details. If I’ve accidentally offended anyone by asking these questions, I sincerely apologize—that wasn’t my intention. I’m just a curious cat trying to learn!

If anyone has more recommendations for Japanese horror films (or insights into these cultural nuances), please share them below. Thanks in advance!

P.S. If this isn’t the right place to ask, feel free to point me in the right direction. :)

Hi! In my diploma thesis, I'm looking at the evolution of Japan's legislation concerning religious corporations and counterterrorism, etc. Is there a website where one can find older versions of Japanese laws to be able to compare what's changed in them over time? It would be ideal if the changes were highlighted, but if not, that's also fine. They can be in Japanese. I only need it from the 1990s onwards.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250129/p2g/00m/0na/033000c

So the man was framed, spent forever (47 years) on death row (solitary confinement), and they are only asking for 1.4 million? I get that is a lot for Japan, but who is going to be punished for actually torturing this man?

I hope this post is allowed. I'm not asking for help in planning a trip but about the political landscape in regard to overtourism.

I recently saw a video of Yamamoto Taro warning against overreliance on tourism as a threat to Japanese economy and sovereignty. Is Reiwa Shingsengumi presently proposing curbs on tourism? Are there other political actors working to reduce tourism?

Do you know of any citizen groups that might be working on this issue?

Thank you.

Marked NSFW for Chinese slurs.

Image link Text 1 2

I obtained this print from an Estate sale around 4-5 years back. Seller was an old man who told me it related to the second world war but reading the text quickly made me think of the First Sino-Japanese war. It's hard to tell exactly, but the use of the slur "チャンコロ” may suggest it's post-Taiwanese occupation.

Looking up the body text and using reverse image search yields no results.

Keep in mind I haven't utilised Japanese since I was around 14 a decade ago, so there may be errors in this text and translation.

Body text:

極東平和の夢破れ、征清の戦端愈々開く、我銃後の国民は、一致団結し眞に涙ぐましき程活躍し、早くも官民協力して恤兵金品の献納を以て出征軍人の慰問、戦病歿者の吊慰、遺族の救済等出征軍人の後顧の憂ひ無からしめたのである。されば戦地に在る將士は、炎熱焼くが如き夏の日も、酷寒肌を劈く冬の日も、君国の為め死を鴻毛軽いに比し、親、子、家庭を顧みる、千苦万苦をものともせず激戦奮鬪すること数次、果たて皇軍の向かう所敵無く、海に陸に連戦連勝し、東洋の一孤の島日本帝国を世界に認識させたのである。其の戦勝の報内地に傳わる、一報毎に全国民は欣喜雀躍して、「万歳！」を

連呼して手の舞ひ足の踏み所を知らず、国旗は戸毎にひらひらと飜って、老若男女貴賎の別なく、幸福を叫んで戦捷を祝福したのである。 新年ともなれば、図の如く出征軍人族、親戚、知己等相集まりて、屠蘇を汲み交し、皇国の弥栄を奉祝して、雑煮を祝ひつゞ、遠く萬里の異郷に在る夫、息子、親の武運長久を遥かに祈つた。銃後に在る者相戒めて家を守ってこそ従軍の将士は、必ずや心を安んじて一死報国の信念の下に戰場に活躍し得るであらう。玩具の軍旗を立て、人形の首引き抜いて『勝つた勝つた、日本勝つた、支那負けた、…それ勝つた勝むた、日本勝つた、支那負けた、…それチヤンコロ坊主の首三ツ』と歌い喜ぶ無邪氣な児童の戯れるへ自ずから戰勝軍國の誇りが窺はれる。 ◇【海に陸に勝ちに勝ちたる君が代の、年の始めを祝ふ今日哉】

Rough translation:

As the dreams of the Far Eastern peace break, the front of war is opening once more, the people of the home-front all were united as they were brought to tears in worry. Early cooperation to give gifts brought comfort to the expeditionary soldiers, the dead, the ill and their worried families. Through that, on summer days like blazing fire, or on winter days when the cold shatters the skin, the general on the battlefield looks back upon his Parents, children and home comparing the death of his kingdom with lighter weight. He struggled in fierce battles without any difficulty and In the end, there was no end to the imperial army, he won by land and sea and made the world aware of the Japanese Empire, a lonely island in the orient. Informed of victory, every citizen jumped nearly every day, crying "Hurray!" and dancing about as the national flag fluttered door to door.

They cried out in happiness and celebrated the war, regardless of age and gender. In the New Year, the troop’s relatives and acquaintances gathered as shown here, gathered together, drinking spiced sake, and celebrating the glory of the Imperial Kingdom, and with the soup(zouni) celebrating and praying for their husbands and sons faraway in foreign lands. Only by guarding the home-front will the generals be sure to relieve their hearts and play an active role on the battlefield knowing that he’ll die for his country. With the flag raised, the doll's neck pulled out, the innocent children sing and rejoice, saying, "I won, I won Japan, China lost! ... here’s three shaven chinese heads" The pride of the victorious army can be seen from the innocent children who are happy to sing of their victories. ◇ [Today we celebrate the beginning of the year with your victories over land and sea]