Blog
Volunteering in Local Japanese Classes: A Double-Edged Sword?
Can you picture a place where retirees, office workers, housewives, and students sit down together with labour migrants, the foreign spouses of Japanese people, and other long-term residents? Local Japanese classes are exactly that. Across Japan, these classes are organised ...
Behind the Perfect Wall: Murakami Haruki’s The City and Its Uncertain Walls
A clock tower without hands. A wall so perfect that neither wind nor cannon can breach it. A town where everything is eternal, and where, to enter, you must surrender your shadow. The walled-in town in Murakami Haruki’s The City ...
Shōshi kōreika, demographic decline, and gender inequality in Japan
In early 2020, more than 34,000 people across Japan were asked a simple question: What is the most pressing issue in Japan today? The answer that came back most often was a familiar phrase: shōshi kōreika (少子高齢化)— low birth rate, ...
“Painfully” Cute: The Emotional Life of Yami-Kawaii in Japan
A young woman in her twenties walks down Takeshita Street in Harajuku dressed head to toe in pink. At first glance, she fits perfectly into the familiar world of kawaii fashion, pastel colours and carefully chosen accessories.
