Kuchikomi
Crossbow killings put focus on unregulated sales of 'hobby weapons'
In early June, police in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, arrested Hideaki Nozu, a 23-year-old university student, on suspicion of killing his 47-year-old mother, 75-year-old grandmother and 22-year-old younger brother. Upon his arrest, Nozu readily confessed to the deed, telling police "I intended to kill my family." As reported in Spa (June… Read
Sex dependency syndrome – no medication for that
Is sex addictive? Yes and no, says Josei Seven (July 9) in effect. No, in the purely clinical sense. It’s mental rather than physiological. Deprive the body of the alcohol or narcotic it craves, once addiction has set in, and the body will claw you to pieces. A heightened desire… Read
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Few economic benefits to be gained from hosting Olympics next year
In a famous parable by Chinese philosopher Han Feizi, a farmer saw a rabbit fleeing a predator collide with a stump and knock itself out. The farmer carried it home and prepared a tasty stew. He kept going back to the same stump to wait for another rabbit. The idiom… Read
Shinjuku hoods bloody scouts on Kabukicho's deserted streets
Pictures don't lie. And especially in 2020, video images of police brutality -- captured on security cameras and smartphones -- have provoked outrage in the streets. And not only in the United States. Weekly magazine Asahi Geino (June 25) reports on a video that surfaced of a violent case of… Read
How the nation's love life is evolving under the stress and challenges of COVID-19
A deadly pandemic seems a toxic backdrop to love. The “social distancing” it imposes, the fears, stresses and strains it generates, are doubtful allies of eros and a decided challenge to marriage. “Corona divorce” may or may not mean literal, legal divorce, but it certainly does describe heightened domestic tension… Read
Human rights demo? Thanks but no thanks, says Kurdish residents' association
One of the topics raised together with the recent demonstrations supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in Japan was a fairly recent example of alleged police brutality, when video of a Kurdish man being forcibly pulled from his car was posted online last month. As was reported in several major… Read
Cabinet warning against patronizing cabarets makes no sense
In its heyday, the section of Sotobori Dori running from Akasaka-Mitsuke to Toranomon once resembled the Las Vegas Strip, with glittering signs promoting cabarets and nightclubs with names like Mikado, Crazy Horse, Copacabana and Mugen. All of which are long gone. While Shukan Bunshun (June 18) acknowledged their passing it… Read
Where's the SNS borderline between abusive slander and fair comment?
The internet is many things to many people – a toxic swamp for some. “Where,” asks Weekly Playboy (June 22), “is the borderline” between abusive slander and fair comment? The question arises with redoubled poignancy in the wake of the apparent suicide last month of Terrace House cast member Hana… Read
Economy struggles to come to terms with shortfall of foreign workers
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign workers in manufacturing, service and other sectors have been unable to enter Japan. This, reports Nikkan Gendai (June 4) has been causing various problems in the domestic economy. From June, at some condominium apartments in the greater Tokyo area, newspaper delivery agents have been restricted… Read
Rural migration driven by coronavirus
Some people like crowds. Whether you do or not, in Japan, you learn to live with them. You have no choice. Mountains confine the habitable regions of a country narrow enough even without them. Modern urbanization depopulated the countryside, swelling Tokyo in particular. Economically, politically, culturally, Tokyo is the place… Read
